rabbit fever

     

Tularemia (also known as "rabbit fever", "eer-fly fever", "Ohara fever" and "Francis disease") is a serious infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. F. tularensis is a small gram-negative non-motile coccobacillus. The bacterium has several subspecies with varying degrees of virulence. The most important of those is F. tularensis tularensis (Type A), which is found in lagomorphs in North America and is highly virulent for humans and domestic rabbits. F. tularensis palaearctica (Type B) occurs mainly in aquatic rodents (beavers, muskrats) in North America and in hares and small rodents in northern Eurasia. It is less virulent for humans and rabbits. The primary vectors are ticks and deer flies, but the disease can also be spread through other arthropods. The disease is named after Tulare County, California.

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