Tularemia found in Wild Rabbits (CO)

[labgrade]

Press release here

"DATE: September 20, 2001

The Larimer County (CO) Department of Health and Environment reports that a number of wild rabbits have been found to be infected with tularemia. Reports of dead wild rabbits found in the Owl Canyon area (north of Owl Canyon Road - north of Ft Collins) came to the attention of the Health Department in mid September. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tested the rabbits and confirmed that they were infected with tularemia."

more ....

 

[Art Eatman]

Unless somebody has newer information, IIRC, tularemia is pretty much a warm weather/summertime problem.

If a rabbit appears to act normal, like it's healthy, and the weather is cold, the great odds are that tularemia is not a problem.

Regardless, when gutting/butchering, don't get rabbit blood into any cuts or abrasions on your hands.

Thorough cooking ends the problem if the rabbit might happen to be a "carrier".

Art

 

[Zorro]

This is not news.

In New Mexico ALL rabbits are considered probable sources of Rabbit Fever until after the first freeze.

Tularemia/Rabbit Fever is the world's most infectious germ, fortunately is rarely fatal

 

[labgrade]

Both correct, but CO really doesn't have much of the nastier stuff found back east or down south - pretty benign all-in-all.

I remember some of the nasty stuff we'd find on rabbits when I (much) younger & in either south Miami area or outside of Shreveport, LA - yuck! lumps & weird critters crawling around in the rabbits ... gnarly, dude. Saw a jack rabbit in NM (Clovis area) one time that must have had 2 pouns of ticks on it.

IIRC from the article, only two cases IDd last year in CO. Worse I've ever seen on rabbits up here is fleas.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Not getting blood into little cuts is difficult, especially when you don't know you have them. I worked for part of a year doing light acid washes for calcium carbinate encrusted items. The acid was strong enough to dry out your hands, but not much else unless you had any unknown little cuts. My hands would go in the bath solution and sometimes come ALIVE with pain. You don't know know many injuries you incur until you do something like an acid bath to point them out. If in doubt or you don't know, wear a nice pair of latex gloves.

So I have to shoot the "normal" rabbits? But the others move so much slower!