Rabbit's foot no lucky charm

Bunnies look so cute hopping around in your yard. But when they get into your garden, they can cause more damage than just chewed lettuce leaves.

Rabbits are among the primary carriers of a surprisingly common disease called tularemia, also known as gardener's disease or rabbit fever. You can catch tularemia by inhaling dust from soil contaminated by rabbits. It is also transmitted by contact with infected animals, putting rabbit hunters (and not just Elmer Fudd) at risk.

Symptoms of tularemia generally occur within three to five days of exposure, but they vary depending on how the disease is transmitted. Direct contact with an infected animal can cause a skin ulcer to form. Inhaled tularemia results in pneumonia (pneumonic tularemia). In the majority of cases, it is treated with antibiotics (usually streptomycin or tetracycline). The pneumonic form can be potentially fatal.

In the summer of 2000, an outbreak of tularemia occurred on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts infecting 15 people. As a follow-up, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) conducted a study to identify possible risk factors. In the two weeks prior to illness, many of the patients had used a lawn mower or a brush cutter and had inhaled the disease.  

If you are a gardener, camper, or rabbit hunter, tularemia can be a threat to your health.

The most common activity connected with the infection is mowing the lawn, so wear a facemask to avoid inhaling the disease. If you are around rabbits, wear latex gloves and a facemask.