Rabbit fever? What is the tick-borne illness that doctors are finding

Another tick-borne illness is being found in sections of New York.

It’s called tularemia, or rabbit fever, CNN reported.

The disease can come after a bite from a tick or fly that has bitten a sick mammal, typically a rabbit.

But a person doesn’t always get it from a tick bite. Coming in direct contact with an ill animal can also transmit the disease. It does not pass person to person.

The closest disease to tularemia is the infection that comes from the Lone Star tick and the American dog tick.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the disease normally occurs from May to September, with fewer than 200 cases each year. But the number of cases has been rising, CNN reported.

The CDC said it is found in every state, except Hawaii. It is most common in the south-central U.S., the Pacific Northwest, and parts of Massachusetts.

In Suffolk County, New York, where there have been three probable cases this year, there were four cases in 2024, three in 2023 and one in 2022. The data for last year has not been released yet.

“Confirmation of a tularemia diagnosis requires a combination of laboratory testing and fulfillment of specific clinical or epidemiologic criteria,” the Suffolk County Health Department told WABC. “The laboratory testing to confirm a tularemia diagnosis may take several weeks.”

Symptoms

The CDC said symptoms will differ depending on where the infection starts, but they may include:

• Skin ulcer where the bacteria entered, typically a bite (ulceroglandular)
• Lymph gland swelling, can be without an ulcer/bite (ulceroglandular or glandular)
• Irritation of the eye, typically from butchering an infected animal (oculoglandular)
• Sore throat from drinking or eating contaminated water or food. Can include mouth ulcers and tonsillitis (oropharyngeal)
• Pneumonia from breathing in dust from something contaminated (pneumonic)
• Combination of general symptoms (typhoidal)

The agency noted that the disease is rare, and the symptoms may be mistaken for other illnesses.

Prevention

The CDC said the best way to prevent the disease is to use an insect repellent, approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, that contains DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone.

Also wear long pants, long sleeves and long socks while hiking, camping or working outside.

Remove ticks quickly.

Don’t drink untreated surface water.

When mowing or landscaping, look for carcasses before starting the work and remove them. Don’t cut them.

When hunting or trapping, wear gloves and cook meat thoroughly before eating.

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