Zoonotic concern: Tularemia in Rabbits and Rodents

Date: March 21, 2013; updated January 29, 2022

By: Christal Pollock, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice)

Keywords: , , , , , ,

Categories: Hamster,  Mammals,  Rabbit,  Rodent, 

Key Points

  • Tularemia is caused by the gram-negative intracellular bacterium Francisella tularensis.
  • Wild rabbits, hares, and rodents are particularly susceptible to disease and often die in large numbers during outbreaks.
  • Humans can become naturally infected through several routes. Although transmission occurs primarily through arthropod bites, exposure can also occur through skin contact with wild rabbits or rodents as well as inhalation of contaminated aerosols.
  • Symptoms in humans vary with the route of infection, but the most common form of disease occurs after handling an infected animal or following an insect bite. Clinical findings include skin ulceration and regional lymphadenopathy.
  • Prevention relies upon preventing exposure to the organism. Wear gloves when handling sick or dead animals, especially wild rabbits and rodents, like prairie dogs.

Tularemia is a highly pathogenic disease of animals and humans that has been reported throughout the northern hemisphere including North America, Europe, and Asia. In the United States, naturally occurring infections have been reported in all states except Hawaii. This brief review article answers several questions. What species are most commonly affected by tularemia? How do humans contract tularemia? What are the signs of tularemia in humans, and what can be done to prevent exposure . . .

To continue you need to be a LafeberVet.com member. (Français), (Español)

Pour continuer, vous devez être un membre LafeberVet.com

Para continuar, debe ser miembro de LafeberVet.com

Already a LafeberVet Member?

Please Login

References

  1. Agger WA. Tularemia, lawn mowers, and rabbits’ nests. J Clin Microbiol. 2005;43(8):4304; author reply 4304-5. doi: 10.1128/JCM.43.8.4304-4305.2005. PMID: 16082010; PMCID: PMC1233993.
  2. Avashia SB, Petersen JM, Lindley CM, et al. First reported prairie dog-to-human tularemia transmission, Texas, 2002. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10(3):483-6. doi: 10.3201/eid1003.030695. PMID: 15109417; PMCID: PMC3322778.
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tularemia. December 13, 2018. CDC website.  Available at https://www.cdc.gov/Tularemia/. Accessed January 29, 2022.
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tularemia associated with a hamster bite–Colorado, 2004. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2005;53(51):1202-3. PMID: 15635290.
  5. Cherry CC, Kwit NA, Ohms RE, et al. Tularemia (Francisella tularensis) in a black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colony. J Wildl Dis. 2019;55(4):944-946. Epub 2019 Mar 28. PMID: 30920904.
  6. Djordjevic-Spasic M, Potkonjak A, Kostic V, Lako B, Spasic Z. Oropharyngeal tularemia in father and son after consumption of under-cooked rabbit meat. Scand J Infect Dis. 2011;43(11-12):977-81. doi: 10.3109/00365548.2011.592988. Epub 2011 Jul 8. PMID: 21736510.
  7. Foley JE, Nieto NC. Tularemia. Vet Microbiol. 2010;140(3-4):332-8. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.07.017. Epub 2009 Aug 8. PMID: 19713053.
  8. Gabriele-Rivet V, Ogden N, Massé A, et al. Eco-epizootiologic study of Francisella tularensis, the agent of tularemia, in Québec wildlife. J Wildl Dis. 2016;52(2):217-29. doi: 10.7589/2015-04-096. Epub 2016 Mar 11. PMID: 26967133.
  9. Ganoe LS, Brown JD, Yabsley MJ, Lovallo MJ, Walter WD. A review of pathogens, diseases, and contaminants of muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) in North America. Front Vet Sci. 2020;7:233. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00233. PMID: 32478106; PMCID: PMC7242561.
  10. Gerhold RW, Jessup DA. Zoonotic diseases associated with free-roaming cats. Zoonoses Public Health. 2013;60(3):189-95. doi: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2012.01522.x. Epub 2012 Jul 26. PMID: 22830565.
  11. Gyuranecz M, Dénes B, Dán A, et al. Susceptibility of the common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) to Francisella tularensis and its effect on the epizootiology of tularemia in an area where both are endemic. J Wildl Dis. 2010;46(4):1316-20. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-46.4.1316. PMID: 20966287.
  12. Kim DY, Reilly TJ, Schommer SK, Spagnoli ST. Rabbit tularemia and hepatic coccidiosis in wild rabbit. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010;16(12):2016-7. doi: 10.3201/eid1612.101013. PMID: 21122253; PMCID: PMC3294546.
  13. Nigrovic LE, Wingerter SL. Tularemia. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2008;22(3):489-504, ix. doi: 10.1016/j.idc.2008.03.004. PMID: 18755386.
  14. O’Toole D, Williams ES, Woods LW, et al. Tularemia in range sheep: an overlooked syndrome? J Vet Diagn Invest. 2008;20(4):508-13. doi: 10.1177/104063870802000417. PMID: 18599860.
  15. Petersen JM, Schriefer ME, Carter LG, et al. Laboratory analysis of tularemia in wild-trapped, commercially traded prairie dogs, Texas, 2002. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10(3):419-25. doi: 10.3201/eid1003.030504. PMID: 15109407; PMCID: PMC3322795.
  16. Ryan-Poirier K, Whitehead PY, Leggiadro RJ. An unlucky rabbit’s foot? Pediatrics. 1990;85(4):598-600. PMID: 2314975.
  17. Zeidner NS, Carter LG, Monteneiri JA, et al. An outbreak of Francisella tularensis in captive prairie dogs: an immunohistochemical analysis. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2004 Mar;16(2):150-2. doi: 10.1177/104063870401600210. PMID: 15053367.
To cite this page:

Pollock C. Tularemia in rabbits and rodents. March 21, 2013. LafeberVet Web site. Available at https://lafeber.com/vet/zoonotic-concern-tularemia-in-rabbits-and-rodents/