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'Rabbit Fever' Returns to Martha's Vineyard
WEST TISBURY, Mass. (AP) - State public health officials are warning people on Martha's Vineyard about the dangers of a potentially fatal disease known as "rabbit fever" after six new cases were identified.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> Cases of the disease tularemia, or rabbit fever, have occurred on Martha's Vineyard every year since an initial outbreak in 2000 sickened 15 people and resulted in one fatality, according to the Department of Public Health. More than three dozen confirmed cases have been reported on the island in the last five years.
<!--=====[STORY PHOTO]=====--> <!--storyphoto--> Tularemia is caused by a bacterium found in animals, especially rodents and rabbits. Other species of animals can be infected, including raccoons, skunks, and cats.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> It can be contracted through the bite of an infected dog tick, when an open sore or cut comes in contact with the bacteria or by inhaling the spores. Symptoms include a lesion on the skin, swollen lymph nodes and flu-like problems.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> Tularemia is not spread from person to person. A few people have gotten sick after bites from their infected pet cats.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> Those affected on Martha's Vineyard range in age from 33 to 67 and became ill between May 13 and July 5, the DPH said. All six, four of whom are employed as landscapers, have been treated and are recovering, officials said. All of the cases reported this year had the respiratory form of the disease _ pneumonic tularemia, according to the DPH's announcement late this week.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> "While landscapers should definitely take precautions, anyone working outside near lawn mowing or brush cutting activities should also be careful," Dr. Bela Matyas, DPH medical director for epidemiology, said in a statement.
Health officials said people on the island should seek medical help immediately if they develop fever or respiratory symptoms within seven days of breathing in dust, soil or grasses while landscaping. They should also seek medical help if they develop skin sores, swollen lymph glands or a rash after a tick bite. Left untreated, about 7 percent of pneumonic tularemia cases in humans are fatal.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> On the Net:
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> Department of Health fact sheet: http://www.mass.gov/dph/cdc/epii/epi.htm.tular. (Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
'Rabbit Fever' Returns to Martha's Vineyard
WEST TISBURY, Mass. (AP) - State public health officials are warning people on Martha's Vineyard about the dangers of a potentially fatal disease known as "rabbit fever" after six new cases were identified.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> Cases of the disease tularemia, or rabbit fever, have occurred on Martha's Vineyard every year since an initial outbreak in 2000 sickened 15 people and resulted in one fatality, according to the Department of Public Health. More than three dozen confirmed cases have been reported on the island in the last five years.
<!--=====[STORY PHOTO]=====--> <!--storyphoto--> Tularemia is caused by a bacterium found in animals, especially rodents and rabbits. Other species of animals can be infected, including raccoons, skunks, and cats.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> It can be contracted through the bite of an infected dog tick, when an open sore or cut comes in contact with the bacteria or by inhaling the spores. Symptoms include a lesion on the skin, swollen lymph nodes and flu-like problems.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> Tularemia is not spread from person to person. A few people have gotten sick after bites from their infected pet cats.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> Those affected on Martha's Vineyard range in age from 33 to 67 and became ill between May 13 and July 5, the DPH said. All six, four of whom are employed as landscapers, have been treated and are recovering, officials said. All of the cases reported this year had the respiratory form of the disease _ pneumonic tularemia, according to the DPH's announcement late this week.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> "While landscapers should definitely take precautions, anyone working outside near lawn mowing or brush cutting activities should also be careful," Dr. Bela Matyas, DPH medical director for epidemiology, said in a statement.
Health officials said people on the island should seek medical help immediately if they develop fever or respiratory symptoms within seven days of breathing in dust, soil or grasses while landscaping. They should also seek medical help if they develop skin sores, swollen lymph glands or a rash after a tick bite. Left untreated, about 7 percent of pneumonic tularemia cases in humans are fatal.
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> On the Net:
<!-- the str_replaces are for WC3 validation --> Department of Health fact sheet: http://www.mass.gov/dph/cdc/epii/epi.htm.tular. (Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)