Font ResizeHealth officials in southwestern Utah are asking people to avoid stray cats or handling dead animals after two cases of a bacterial infection called tularemia were detected in felines in Kane County.
David Heaton, spokesman for Southwest Utah Public Health, said Tuesday that the disease is common in wild rabbits and can be contracted by handling the blood or tissues of dead animals or spread by bites from ticks and deerflies. There have been no reported human cases.
Heaton said if left untreated, the disease, also known as rabbit fever, can be fatal in people. About 200 cases are reported in the U.S. every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Possible symptoms include skin ulcers, swollen and painful lymph glands, inflamed eyes, sore throat, mouth sores, diarrhea or pneumonia. If the bacteria are inhaled, symptoms can include abrupt onset of fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, joint pain, dry cough and progressive weakness. The incubation period is typically three to five days, but can range up to 14 days.
Heaton said his department became aware of the disease after samples from a sick cat and a dead cat from Kanab were sent to a state laboratory came back positive for tularemia.
Health officials are not overly concerned about the disease, but want the public to be aware and to avoid handling stray or dead animals.
Mark Havnes
