Tularemia

Tularemia is a potentially severe illness. It is caused by the organism Francisella tularensis. The disease primarily affects animals, mainly rodents, rabbits and hares, although it can also affect birds, reptiles and fish. Tularemia spreads to humans by various routes, including insect bites and direct exposure to an infected animal. Tularemia is also known as rabbit fever. The primary bearers are ticks and deer flies, but the disease can also be spread by other arthropods. Rodents, rabbits, hares and ticks often serve as repository hosts. Tularemia is not known to be spread from person to person.

Tularemia is an infection common in wild rodents. The bacteria can outlive for weeks at low temperatures in water, damp soil, hay, straw, or decaying animal carcasses. Hunters or other people who disburse a great deal of time out of doors are at a greater risk of exposure to tularemia than people with other occupational or recreational interests. All are equally sentient to disease; however, societal activities common to young men may predispose them to exposure to the bacterium.

Tularemia is generally a disease of rural areas. Many people may develop an atypical pneumonia after infection. Risk factors involve recent exposure to rabbits or a recent tick bite. Health experts repute that tularemia is underrecognized and underreported. All ages are susceptible to the disease; however, young-to-middle-aged people are more probably to interfere in activities which predispose them to exposure. The disease is very rare in the United States.

Less common means of spread are drinking contaminated water, breathing in dust from contaminated soil or handling contaminated pelts or paws of animals. Hallmarks of tularemia could involve sudden fever, chills, headaches, muscle aches, joint pain, dry cough, precocious weakness, and pneumonia. A patient suffering from tularemia will most often develop flu-like signs between 1-14 days after infection.

The prevalence, however, is higher for adults in early winter during rabbit hunting season and for children during the summer when ticks and deer flies are plenteous. People who have been exposed to the tularemia bacteria should be cured as soon as possible. The disease can be deadly if it is not treated with the right antibiotics.

Causes of Tularemia

The common reasons and risk factor's of Tularemia include the following:

• Bacterium Francisella tularensis.
• Contact with animal tissues or through ticks.
• Eating infected meat (rare).
• The bite of an infected flea or tick.
• Recent exposure to rabbits.
• People who work with wildlife are at increased risk of tularemia.

Symptoms of Tularemia

Some Symptoms of Tularemia :

• Red spot on the skin, enlarging to an ulcer.
• Muscle pains.
• Enlarged lymph nodes of the groin or armpits.
• Dry cough.
• Joint stiffness or pain.
• Progressive weakness.
• Swollen and painful eyes.
• Sore throat.
• Fever and chills.

Treatment of Tularemia

• The drug of choice is Streptomycin.
• Tularemia can also be treated with gentamicin, tetracycline or fluoroquinolone antibiotics.
• Washing your hands frequent with soap and warm water, especially after handling animal carcasses.
• Ftularensis is naturally resistant to penicillins and first-generation cephalosporins.

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