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Officials Warn Residents To Avoid Rabbit Carcasses After Man's Death

LAFAYETTE, Colo. (CBS4) - Health officials in Boulder County are warning residents to be aware of Tularemia, a disease that can be transmitted to humans from rabbit carcasses.

This week employees from Boulder County Public Health are going door-to-door handing out flyers that present facts about the bacterial infection.

On Thursday employee Marshall Lipps was spreading the word in Lafayette.

"It's a notification," Lipps told one neighbor while a CBS4 crew was present. "There's a disease called Tularemia that's been confirmed in this area."

Tularemia can be dangerous if not treated quickly. It is frequently referred to as rabbit fever because it is spread by infected rabbits or rodents and ticks or fleas.

"Typically it's an animal disease, but humans can get it," Lipps said.

"Just some precautions -- if you see dead animals in your yard (don't) touch them. Bag them up."

County disease control manager Carol Helwig said Tularemia's symptoms include fever, chills, headache and respiratory symptoms.

"The bacteria can survive for a very long period of time and even through the winter and so we're seeing now this first case pretty early in the season likely because Tularemia continues to circulate and continues to persist in the environment," she said.

Last year was the worst outbreak of the infection the county has ever seen, with five cases. This year a Boulder-area man contracted Tularemia while mowing his lawn and eventually died from other complications.

The man likely ran over an infected animal carcass, the bacteria became airborne, and he breathed it in. Within a day he developed symptoms. That man's identity has not been released.

Last year there were a total of 16 Tularemia cases across the state.

Additional Resources

The following tips for avoiding Tularemia are suggested by Boulder County Public Health:

- Wear insect repellent to ward off infected fleas
- Wear a mask when cutting grass
- Don't walk around barefoot and don't drink stream water because soil and water can become contaminated
- Pets can also contract Tularemia
- Tularemia cannot be passed from one person to another

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