Muskrat In Rocky Mountain National Park Tests Positive For Tularemia

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (CBS4)- A dead muskrat has been found at the Lily Lake area in Rocky Mountain National Park and tested positive for tularemia.

Tularemia is a naturally occurring bacterial disease transmitted by infected insects and ticks to rabbits, hares, muskrats, beavers and other small rodents. Tularemia can also spread to humans and can cause serious clinical symptoms.

Although it's a native disease that occurs naturally, human impacts on the environment can affect wildlife habits and promote the transmission and spread of diseases such as tularemia.

Additional Information from Rocky Mountain National Park:

In humans, tularemia can cause a wide range of symptoms, including fever and chills, joint pain, muscle aches and headaches, dry cough and chest pain and an open sore and swelling at the site of a tick bite or swollen lymph nodes.  If someone becomes ill with any of these symptoms within two weeks of being in an affected area, they should seek medical attention and tell their doctor about possible exposure to tularemia.  Tularemia can be treated successfully with antibiotics.  For more information about tularemia visit www.cdc.gov/Tularemia/.