Tularemia is a rare infectious disease also known as rabbit fever, as the most common form of transmission is through people’s contact with the infected animal and is caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis, which normally infects wild animals, such as rodents, hares and rabbits, which can infect humans and cause complications that can lead to death.
Despite being fatal, tularemia has a simple and effective treatment, being recommended the use of antibiotics for about 10 to 21 days according to the doctor’s advice.Tularemia is more common in the northern United States, Europe and Asia, no cases have been reported in Brazil, however in this case, it is recommended to inform the Ministry of Health to take the necessary measures, as this is a mandatory declaration of the disease.
- Symptoms of infection with the bacteria can take 3 to 14 days.
- But it is more common for the first symptoms to appear up to 5 days after exposure.
- Symptoms are often associated with how bacteria enter the body.
- Either through air or through contact with contaminated animals.
- Mucous membranes.
- Or ingestion of contaminated water.
- For example.
The first symptoms of tularemia are the appearance of a small sore on the skin that is difficult to heal and is usually accompanied by high fever.Other rare symptoms that may occur with bacterial infection include:
Because symptoms also vary depending on how bacteria enter the body, there may be:
Diagnosis of tularemia is made from the analysis of symptoms and the result of blood and microbiological tests that identify the presence of the bacteria, it is important that the person can identify how contact with the bacteria occurred so that the necessary measures can be taken to prevent the infection again.
It is important that treatment is started shortly after diagnosis to prevent the bacteria from spreading to other parts of the body and causing complications.
Humans can be contaminated by contact with ticks, fleas, lice, mosquitoes and flies, as well as by drinking contaminated water or by contact with blood, tissues or viscera of infected animals.Other forms of contamination include eating meat, biting or scratching contaminated animals, and inhaling dust, grain or iron from contaminated soil.
Contaminated wild rabbit meat, even if kept at low temperatures, such as -15 C, remains contaminated after 3 years, so in case of outbreak it is not recommended to eat rabbits or hares.
Although it is a rare and often fatal disease, antibiotic treatment is quite effective because it removes bacteria from the body in a few weeks and prevents complications that could develop as bacteria proliferate and spread.
Thus, the antibiotics normally indicated by your doctor to treat tularemia are streptomycin, gentamicin, doxycycline and ciprofloxacin, which are usually used for 10 to 21 days depending on the stage of the disease and the antibiotic chosen by your doctor.It is also important that the bacterial identification test will be performed on your doctor’s advice to check if treatment is effective and whether the need to change or resume treatment is verified.
In pregnant women, infants and children, the doctor may decide to maintain hospitalization to ensure proper hydration and during pregnancy, account should be taken of the risk/benefit of using gentamicin and ciprofloxacin antibiotics, which are contraindicated during pregnancy, but which are best suited for the treatment of this infection.
To protect yourself from tularemia, it is important to avoid eating food or drinking water that may be contaminated and wearing gloves and masks when handling a sick or dead animal that may also be contaminated.In addition, it is recommended to use repellents and trousers and a blouse to protect the skin from insect bites that may have been contaminated with bacteria.