Suffolk County reports three probable tularemia cases, health officials warn

Suffolk County health officials have identified three probable cases of tularemia this year, a rare bacterial infection also known as rabbit fever. The Suffolk County Department of Health Services requires laboratory testing to confirm a tularemia diagnosis.

Tularemia spreads through ticks, deer flies and contact with infected animals, and rabbits are most often involved in outbreaks. That makes outdoor work and recreation the most plausible places for exposure on Long Island, especially where people are around brush, ticks, deer flies or sick wild rabbits.

People who spend a lot of time outdoors are at higher risk, including hunters, veterinarians and others with animal exposure. Symptoms that should prompt a doctor call include fever, chills, headache, exhaustion, swollen lymph nodes and an ulcer at the site of infection, especially after a tick or deer-fly bite or after handling a sick or dead rabbit.

Suffolk County also uses its tick surveillance program to track arthropod-borne diseases and human case investigations. A CDC analysis of state cases from 1993 through 2023 found 30 cases statewide, 43 percent from Suffolk County, 69 percent diagnosed from 2014 through 2023, and one death.

Prevent tick and deer-fly bites, avoid contact with sick or dead animals, and be cautious around wild rabbits. If you come back from yard work, landscaping, hunting or time in the woods with a fever, swollen glands or a skin ulcer, do not brush it off.