Which disease is affecting the wild rabbits of Santa Fe, New Mexico?
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – State health officials say lab tests confirm plague in a rabbit found at a private residences about a half-mile from the Santa Fe National Cemetery. The state Health Department says this is the first indication of plague activity in Santa Fe County this year. The department has also investigated a case of plague in a dog near Ojo Caliente in Rio Arriba County in February. Plague is generally transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas, but can also be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals, including rodents, rabbits and pets. In New Mexico, there was one human case of plague last year in an Eddy County man who got the disease from hunting rabbits. There were five human plague cases with one fatality in 2007. Sources: http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S865218.
The state Department of Health says rabbits in New Mexico are getting sick and dying from a bacterial disease, tularemia. That illness is potentially serious in people. Tularemia is caused by a bacteria found in animals, especially rodents and rabbits. Symptoms in people are similar to those of plague – sudden fever, chills, headaches, diarrhea, muscle aches and joint pain. Other symptoms can include pneumonia, chest pain, ulcers on the skin or mouth, swollen and painful lymph glands, swollen and painful eyes and a sore throat. Public health veterinarian Dr. Paul Ettestad urges people to follow the same precautions against tularemia as for plague. That includes not allowing pets to roam and hunt, using flea-control products on pets and not handling sick or dead rodents or rabbits. Sources: KOB.
State health officials say lab tests confirm plague in a rabbit found at a private residences about a half-mile from the Santa Fe National Cemetery. The state Health Department said this is the first indication of plague activity in Santa Fe County this year. The department has also investigated a case of plague in a dog near Ojo Caliente in Rio Arriba County in February. Plague is generally transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas, but can also be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals, including rodents, rabbits and pets. In New Mexico, there was one human case of plague last year in an Eddy County man who got the disease from hunting rabbits. There were five human plague cases with one fatality in 2007.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – State health officials say lab tests confirm plague in a rabbit found at a private residences about a half-mile from the Santa Fe National Cemetery. The state Health Department says this is the first indication of plague activity in Santa Fe County this year. The department has also investigated a case of plague in a dog near Ojo Caliente in Rio Arriba County in February. Plague is generally transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas, but can also be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals, including rodents, rabbits and pets. In New Mexico, there was one human case of plague last year in an Eddy County man who got the disease from hunting rabbits. There were five human plague cases with one fatality in 2007.
The state Department of Health says rabbits in New Mexico are getting sick and dying from a bacterial disease, tularemia. That illness is potentially serious in people. Tularemia is caused by a bacteria found in animals, especially rodents and rabbits. Symptoms in people are similar to those of plague – sudden fever, chills, headaches, diarrhea, muscle aches and joint pain. Other symptoms can include pneumonia, chest pain, ulcers on the skin or mouth, swollen and painful lymph glands, swollen and painful eyes and a sore throat. Public health veterinarian Dr. Paul Ettestad urges people to follow the same precautions against tularemia as for plague. That includes not allowing pets to roam and hunt, using flea-control products on pets and not handling sick or dead rodents or rabbits.
