Bunion plague in Bavaria People can also become infected

Hare infected with tularemia in Bavaria: Hare's pest is also transmissible to humans

In the district Ansbach (Bavaria) a case of hare's plague (tularemia) became known. The dead animal has been tested positive for the disease. Humans can also become infected with rabbit plague.

Dead hare tested positive for tularemia

According to media reports, there is a case of rabbit sickness (tularemia) in the district of Ansbach (Bavaria). The district office informed accordingly that a hare found dead in the open air at Lichtenau tested positive for the disease. According to the information, the infected animal was found in December and was loudspeaker for years, the first hare plague case in the district.

In the district of Ansbach (Bavaria) the pathogens of hare's plague have been found in a dead hare. Even humans can become infected with it. (Image: Soru Epotok / fotolia.com)

Rabbit plague can also be dangerous for humans

Tularemia is a bacterial disease caused by the causative agent Francisella tularensis.

The infectious disease mainly affects hares and rodents.

However, as a zoonotic disease, it also poses a high health risk for humans, as shown by a case from Switzerland where a young woman was infected with rabbit sickness last year after the attack of a bird of prey.

Humans are very receptive to the pathogen

"Humans become infected especially with intensive contact with diseased animals or their excrements or with the handling with carcasses, in particular with the skinning and excluding taken wild," writes the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) on its website.

When contacting rabbit meat, gloves and mouthguards should be used.

Even hounds could be carriers of hare plague, as Austrian researchers reported last year.

And in the US, the disease was transmitted by a cat a few months ago.

Insufficiently heated food or contaminated water can also cause an infection.

"Man is very susceptible to the pathogen. Only a few germs (10 - 50 bacteria) are necessary for an infection via the mouth, nose, eyelid, or small skin and mucosal injuries ", says the LGL.

Disease starts with flu-like symptoms

The incubation period is given as three to ten days according to the LGL, the duration of the disease at two to three weeks, followed by a longer convalescence.

The disease begins with nonspecific, flu-like symptoms such as headache, body aches, fever, chills and fatigue.

"At the point of entry, an ulcerated decaying papule develops. The regional lymph nodes swell and fester, "writes the LGL.

"Internal organs can be involved (eg pneumonia). A particularly severe disease is the typhoid form known as septicemia. "

Health professionals recommend seeing a doctor for symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle cramps or nausea and vomiting after coming into contact with wildlife or eating wild game meat. (Ad)