Humans can be infected with tularemia by handling infected rodent or rabbit carcasses, through the bite of an infected tick or biting fly, eating contaminated food, drinking contaminated water or by breathing in the bacteria.
The signs and symptoms of tularemia vary depending on how the bacteria enter the body. Illness ranges from mild to life-threatening. Most people with tularemia develop a sudden fever. Other symptoms can include chills, headaches, ulcers, enlarged lymph nodes, diarrhea, muscle aches, joint pain, dry cough and progressive weakness. Symptoms typically begin three to five days after exposure to the bacteria.
While tularemia is fatal in some cases, the disease can be successfully treated with antibiotics. People who contract tularemia and receive treatment typically recover completely.
Tularemia is a rare disease in Vermont. The last major outbreak in the state occurred in 1968 when 47 people in Addison County were diagnosed within a four-week period. Everyone who fell ill in that outbreak had a history of handling or trapping muskrats. Since 2011, there have been six reported cases of tularemia in Vermont; three were in Vermonters who became infected while traveling to Massachusetts.
