Until 26 years of the last century, tularemia was considered a “chamber” type of plague in Russia. Its manifestations largely coincided with the clinical plague picture, but were much less deadly. After the isolation of bacteria responsible for the disease of tularemia by California scientists in the year 11 of the same century, it became clear that the recorded cases are not at all a mild plague, but another disease.
Sources of infection
And yet, tularemia - what is it? Like the plague, it is an infectious disease that affects both humans and animals. It is carried by all the same rodents that were to blame for the plague pandemics. Tularemia can be transmitted both from diseased (deceased) animals, and through the bites of insects - fleas and ticks that lived on infected rodents, and through water, grain, hay, which affected patients, say, mice, came into contact with. Bacteria can enter the body through the air, and through the eyes and mucous membranes. Very often, hunters infected them while cutting carcasses of sick hares or muskrats.
Signs of the disease
So, tularemia is suspected in a person. What exactly is she, may indicate fever, insomnia, migraine-like headaches, swelling of the lymph nodes, which at the same time are very painful. Often these nodes begin to fester. At night, the person sweats very much. A couple of days later, buboes are formed. It is still worth making sure: the patient has tularemia. That this is not a plague, laboratory tests show, but the infected is still isolated, although it is believed that tularemia is not transmitted from person to person.
The good news is two points. Firstly, mortality from this disease is very low - less than one percent. Secondly, once having been ill, a person may never again be afraid of the diagnosis of tularemia. What is this if not a gift of fate? Indeed, from many infectious diseases, stable lifelong immunity is not produced.
Prevention is the key to health
The main measure to prevent the spread of this disease is the deratization of premises, both residential and industrial. In order not to catch the disease tularemia, measures should be taken to avoid insect bites - proper clothing, the use of ointments and mite sprays, anti-flea policy regarding pets. Sources of drinking water in places where cases of tularemia infection were recorded should be under strict sanitary supervision and control.
People whose profession implies an increased risk of catching this disease are required to be vaccinated. The tularemia vaccine is a scratch on the shoulder into which a fresh vaccine is given. Immunity does not give a vaccine for life, so it has to be repeated every 5 years.
Possible consequences
What else is tularemia “good” for? Complications after it are relatively rare. Among them, secondary pneumonia comes first, which cannot be cured at the current level of medicine. Meningitis, arthritis, neurosis and meningoencephalitis are much less common.
So, if by the nature of your activity you risk getting tularemia, do not forget to go to the clinic for vaccination. Let it be easily treated, letting rarely give complications, but still it is better not to encounter it at all, especially in your own body.