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Tularemia (Rabbit Fever)

Tularemia is a bacteria, Francisella tularensis, found naturally in wild animals, particularly rodents, wild rabbits, ticks, and flies but also include hare, muskrat and beaver. It is usually transmitted by contact with infected animals or by environmental contact such as eating, drinking or breathing contaminates. Human tularemia disease is rare and is not known to spread from person to person. The table below outlines the known outbreaks in Canada since 2002.

Year

Number of Cases

Case Breakdown

2002

9

8 in Quebec

1 in Manitoba

2003

10

8 in Quebec

1 in Ontario

1 in British Columbia

2004

15

2 in New Brunswick

8 in Quebec

2 in Ontario

1 in Manitoba

1 in Saskatchewan

1 in Yukon

2005

none known at this time

n/a

2006

none known at this time

n/a

In October of 2004 the Public Health Agency of Canada put out an Advisory for Tularemia with regards to hamsters that tested positive for Type B Tularemia. These hamsters originated from a pet distributor in Manitoba and were shipped to British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and throughout Manitoba.

Domestic rabbits do not naturally carry the bacteria that causes Tularemia and therefore cannot infect a person with this disease. The only cases of rabbit to human transfer has been from wild rabbits.

For more information check out the following links:

Tularemia - Frequently Asked Questions

October 2, 2004 Public Health Agency of Canada Advisory

BC Centre for Disease Control - Tularemia

 

 

 

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