Health Officials Make Recommendations After 2 Men Contract 'Rabbit Fever'
WELD COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Two people are currently recovering from tularemia, or the disease known as rabbit fever.
The two new cases are in Weld County but they aren't the first cases in Colorado. One of the two infected men remains hospitalized. Health officials said he's in an intensive care unit. The other man is recovering at home.
Weld County health officials think both men became exposed while doing yard work.
Tularemia is commonly referred to as rabbit fever. It is spread by infected ticks, fleas, rabbits and rodents. People can inhale the bacteria while mowing lawns. Now health departments around Colorado are encouraging people to wear dust masks while gardening and landscaping.
"As you're getting ready to mow, see if there are any carcasses. Dispose of those animals so you don't mow over them and increase your risk of tularemia," Marshall Lipps with Boulder County Public Health said.
Already this spring the Front Range is seeing an unusually high number of human tularemia cases. Last month a Lafayette resident died after contracting the disease and suffering other medical conditions.