Tularemia

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Antibodies

Deer ticks

Tick imbedded in the skin

Ticks

Tularemia is an infection common in wild rodents. It is caused by the organism Francisella tularensis. Tularemia is transmitted to humans by contact with infected animal tissues or by ticks, biting flies, and mosquitoes.

Deerfly fever; Rabbit fever, Pahvant Valley plague, Ohara disease, yatobyo (Japan), Lemming fever

Humans can contract tularemia in the following ways:

• Direct contact, through a break in the skin, with an infected animal or its carcass
• The bite of an infected tick, horsefly, or mosquito
• Eating infected meat (rare)

Endemic areas (areas where the disorder occurs most commonly) include North America and parts of Europe and Asia. The illness may continue for several weeks after symptoms begin.

Some people may develop an atypical pneumonia after infection. Risk factors include recent exposure to rabbits or a recent tick bite. The disease is very rare in the United States.

Francisella tularensis is considered a potential bioterrorism agent. An aerosol release would be a possible method of infection, and would result in pneumonia cases, beginning 1 to 10 days after exposure.

Review Date: 01/29/2007
Reviewed By: D. Scott Smith, M.D., MSc, DTM&H, Chief of Infectious Disease & Geographic Medicine, Kaiser Redwood City, CA & Adjunct Assistant Professor, Stanford University. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.