VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 12:02:12 08/08/02 Thu
Author: bunny
Subject: Tularemia, rabbits - USA (Texas)

Date 23:30 Aug 3
Subject PRO/AH> Tularemia, rabbits - USA (Texas)

TULAREMIA, RABBITS - USA (TEXAS)
*********************************

Date: 2 Aug 2002
Source: Amarillo Globe Newspaper, 2 Aug 2002 [edited]


A contagious bacterial infection found in dead rabbits near Canadian, Texas,
has doctors and city officials on alert to its possible appearance in humans
and pets.The Texas Department of Health sent a warning to Hemphill County
Hospital on 12 Jul 2002 that tularemia, otherwise known as "rabbit fever,"
was discovered in dead rabbits at the Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area,
said Dr. Michael Maloney of the Hemphill County Clinic.

"If we see a flu-like illness with lymph node enlargements or an open
laceration, we're thinking of (tularemia), or a person diagnosed with
pneumonia, we're thinking of it as well," Maloney said. "But I have reason
to believe I can relax quite a bit, because no creatures have died in a
while, I hear."

"In late June, Gene Howe Wildlife Management Area officials found 16 dead
rabbits and 5 dead squirrels in the refuge north of Canadian," said James
Alexander with the Texas Department of Health Zoonosis Control in Canyon.
"One of the rabbits was sent to Austin for testing, and it turned out to
have died from tularemia," Alexander said. "It's a naturally occurring
disease," he said. "It appears in fairly low levels in the rabbit
population, and as the population increases, so do occurrences of the
disease. The infection is transmitted by direct contact with infected
animals, by tick bites and by airborne particles."

Warnings about the disease have been posted at the nurse's station and in
the emergency room at the hospital, Maloney said. Canadian's health officer,
Dr. Bill Isaacs, reported no cases of tularemia, a bacterial infection
causing flu-like symptoms, in humans.

Tularemia is spread through infected ticks, contact of the skin with blood
or tissue of infected animals, or handling or eating insufficiently cooked
rabbit meat.

Avoid tick exposure, tick bites, and tick-infested areas to limit the risk
of exposure as well as decreasing the risk of spreading tularemia. Minimize
any contact pets may have with ticks as well. Rubber gloves should be worn
when skinning or handling animals. Wild rabbit and other game meat should be
cooked thoroughly. Do not handle dead or sick wild animals.

The city's animal control unit has yet to see a case of domestic animals
being infected with the disease, said Curtis Klein, public works department
director."It's not in the city so far," he said.

Symptoms of infection include: fever, painful swollen lymph glands (if from
a tick bite); abdominal pain (if ingested); and pneumonia-like symptoms (if
inhaled). If untreated, there's a 30-60 percent chance of fatality in
humans, Alexander said.

Those who do regular lawn work or come into close contact with wildlife
should pay attention to how they're feeling within a week of being outside,
Alexander said. People who get tick bites should pay extra attention. "If
they develop some kind of illness, respiratory problems, lymph node
involvement, or lymph node swelling, they should see a doctor," he said.

Veterinarian Pat Crouch of the Canadian Vet Clinic said dying from the
infection is unlikely, however. It's one of many tick-borne diseases that
can be treated with antibiotics with success, and it's rare, he said."The
chances of getting exposed to it are slim," he said.

--

[Tularemia, (_Francisella tularensis_) a bacterial infection, has gained
more notoriety since its inclusion in the list of significant potential
biowarfare pathogens. As such, it would likely present as a respiratory
infection: either tularemia pneumonia or oropharyngeal infection.
Generally, natural infection presents as the ulceroglandular form with
prominent lymph node infection. The bacterium was originally described by
Francis in Tulare County, California, USA. - Mod.TG]

[see also:
Tularemia - USA (Martha's Vineyard, MA) (02) 20020613.4490
Tularemia - USA (Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts) 20020611.4465
2001
---
Tularemia, wildlife - USA (Colorado): alert 20010924.2326
Tularemia - USA (Wyoming): alert 20010731.1498
Tularemia - USA (Utah, Wyoming): alert 20010729.1484
Tularemia - USA (Massachusetts) 20010609.1129
Tularemia - USA (Massachusetts) (06) 20010717.1378
2000
----
Tularemia - USA (Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts) 20000901.1465
Tularemia, zoo animals - USA (Arizona) 20000619.0993]
......................tg/pg/jw


*##########################################################*
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that
are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held
responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any
damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted
or archived material.
************************************************************
Visit ProMED-mail's web site at <http://www.promedmail.org>.
Send all items for posting to: promed@promedmail.org
(NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your
full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send
commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help,
etc. to: majordomo@promedmail.org. For assistance from a
human being send mail to: owner-majordomo@promedmail.org.
############################################################
############################################################

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.