Ticks are becoming more and more problematic in the United States. We all know that lyme infection rates have been increasing in the US lately. Although lyme disease is the most common type of tick-borne disease, other types of tick-borne diseases are increasing in prevalence. You may be surprised by how many tick-borne diseases are spread among the American population. Most tick-borne diseases are obscure, but one disease is becoming more commonplace in some regions of America. This particular disease is often referred to as “rabbit fever”. The official name of this tick-borne disease is tularemia, and several ticks in California have tested positive for the disease.
Numerous tick-traps that are set up on Lopez Canyon trail in Sorrento Valley have caught several ticks that are carrying rabbit fever. Public health officials with the County’s Vector Control program are urging residents of San Diego and surrounding communities to take preventative measures against tick bites. Public health officials are claiming that an unusually high amount of ticks have been found within the county so far this year. Luckily, the only ticks that have tested positive for rabbit fever were the ones found in traps in Sorrento Valley.
Contracting a tick-borne disease is unlikely in San Diego County. This region of the US does not see a particularly high amount of tick-borne disease cases in the population. Despite the rarity of tick-borne disease cases in southern California, ticks that dwell in this region have been found carrying lyme disease and a variety of other diseases. Rabbit fever is curable with antibiotic medication, but the disease can sometimes be fatal. Rabbit fever has been on the rise in the US for the past several years. Back in 2015 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noticed that cases of rabbit fever were increasing within the US, and this trend continues today. In two full decades only one hundred and twenty five cases of rabbit fever were recorded in the US. However, starting in the early 2010s, cases of rabbit fever increased dramatically. During the first nine months of 2015, more than one hundred cases of rabbit fever were reported in four states in the US. Researchers are not exactly sure why cases of rabbit fever have increased during recent years. But it seems that this disease will only become more prevalent in the years to come.
Have you ever encountered a news story that described rabbit fever? Do you think that the media should pay more attention to tick-borne diseases?
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