Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Rabbit Flu-Flu

A New Zealand white rabbit discovered last month by campers at Oceanside’s Guajome County Park has tested positive for Tularemia, or “rabbit fever,” a rare infectious disease that can cause severe illness and death in animals and humans.

“Rabbits are the main reservoir for the disease, and they usually die from it,” says Chris Conlan, supervising ecologist at County Vector Control. Having a rabbit test positive for Tularemia is out of the ordinary. “It is rather rare, as we only find positive results every few years,” says Conlan.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Conlan says that it is unknown why the New Zealand white rabbit was at the campground in the first place. New Zealand white rabbits are a domesticated breed with snowy white fur and pink eyes -- hardly the type of rabbit you would expect to find out in the wild. They are popular as pets, in laboratories, and for the meat and fur trade.

“It is suspected it either escaped or was turned loose by someone,” says Conlan.

Tularemia can be spread from animals to humans through the bite of an infected tick or deer fly or from contact with an infected animal.

“Ticks are the main vectors for the disease, so it is suspected that the rabbit was bitten by an infected tick after it found itself in the great outdoors with no owner,” says Conlan.

Tularemia is usually treatable with antibiotics when diagnosed early. Left untreated, the disease is potentially fatal. The bacteria that causes Tularemia has been identified as a possible bioweapon, according to the Mayo Clinic website.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Bringing Order to the Christmas Chaos

There is a sense of grandeur in Messiah that period performance mavens miss.

A New Zealand white rabbit discovered last month by campers at Oceanside’s Guajome County Park has tested positive for Tularemia, or “rabbit fever,” a rare infectious disease that can cause severe illness and death in animals and humans.

“Rabbits are the main reservoir for the disease, and they usually die from it,” says Chris Conlan, supervising ecologist at County Vector Control. Having a rabbit test positive for Tularemia is out of the ordinary. “It is rather rare, as we only find positive results every few years,” says Conlan.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Conlan says that it is unknown why the New Zealand white rabbit was at the campground in the first place. New Zealand white rabbits are a domesticated breed with snowy white fur and pink eyes -- hardly the type of rabbit you would expect to find out in the wild. They are popular as pets, in laboratories, and for the meat and fur trade.

“It is suspected it either escaped or was turned loose by someone,” says Conlan.

Tularemia can be spread from animals to humans through the bite of an infected tick or deer fly or from contact with an infected animal.

“Ticks are the main vectors for the disease, so it is suspected that the rabbit was bitten by an infected tick after it found itself in the great outdoors with no owner,” says Conlan.

Tularemia is usually treatable with antibiotics when diagnosed early. Left untreated, the disease is potentially fatal. The bacteria that causes Tularemia has been identified as a possible bioweapon, according to the Mayo Clinic website.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big kited bluefin on the Red Rooster III

Lake fishing heating up as the weather cools
Next Article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader