When I read Three Nebraska Men Develop Rabbit Fever, I immediately thought of Bugs Bunny, seeing spots — which is the same thing I thought of, to be honest, when I first heard about monkey pox. That’s a real disease? Anyway:
Two men who mowed over a nest of rabbits, killing some of them, and another who cleaned the mower developed a rare disease known as rabbit fever, authorities said.The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched an investigation into the incident. The disease, also called pneumonic tularemia, is generally treatable with antibiotics but can lead to pneumonia.
The illness is caused by a bacterium found in wild animals, particularly rodents and rabbits. People can become infected through bites from infected animals or infected insects, handling carcasses, eating contaminated food or, in rare cases, inhaling the bacterium. It is not transmitted person-to-person.
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Tularemia is caused by the organism Francisella tularensis, a bacteria studied widely during World War II as a biological weapon. Depending on how the person is infected, it can cause flu-like symptoms, skin ulcers, swollen eyes and a sore throat.