Increase in the number of Tularemia cases

Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB scanpix

The number of infectious cases of “rabbit fever” is increasing, and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health asks hikers to take precautions. During the summer ten people fell ill.

This disease of “rabbit fever or deer fly fever” is caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis which comes from small rodents. Earlier this summer the bacteria was detected in hare in Oppland, Hedmark, Østfold and Sogn og Fjordane.

Now, the Institute of Public Health reports that ten people have become ill after being infected this summer, which is more than at the same time in recent years.

“It is important that people traveling in the wild think about how to avoid infection,” says senior researcher Tone Bjordal Johansen at the Institute of Public Health in a statement on the institute’s websites.

The infection is usually found in drinking water after dead animals have infected wells, streams and other water sources. Dogs and cats can also transmit infections to humans via licking if they have just bitten a sick or dead animal that is infected by this disease.

Usually, there is a three to five day incubation period for people who have been infected until they get sick. These are usually flu-like symptoms, and the human infection can be treated effectively with antibiotics.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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