PRESCOTT, AZ (CBS5) -
A condition commonly known as rabbit fever has surfaced in the Dewey area in northern Arizona.
Authorities have been receiving recent reports of wild rabbits contracting and dying from tularemia and the state laboratory confirmed the illness in a dead rabbit sent to Phoenix for testing, Yavapai County Community Services spokesman David McAtee said.
Tularemia is caused by a germ carried by animals, especially rodents, rabbits and hares, and can be passed to domestic animals and people.
"We usually see one or two cases of tularemia in animals each year and the state averages one human case of tularemia each year," said Stephen Everett, epidemiologist for Yavapai County Community Health Services.
People and pets who spend time outdoors can acquire tularemia if they are bitten by infected deerflies, ticks, or other insects, or by handling infected rodents or rabbits.
Family pets with outdoor roaming privileges can carry ticks into the home and may expose humans to tick-borne illnesses. Rarely, tularemia can spread to humans through contaminated food or water, or by inhaling the airborne germ. It is not known to spread from person to person.
You can avoid contracting tularemia by applying DEET-based insect repellent to exposed skin while spending time outdoors. People can also apply tick medicine and tick collars to cats and dogs to protect both the pet and the owner.
Symptoms in humans include sudden fever, chills, headaches, diarrhea, muscle aches, joint pain, dry cough, progressive weakness and in worst cases can cause pneumonia. Symptoms vary from person to person and generally show up three to five days after exposure, but sometimes as late as 14 days later.
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