Cat owners are being warned of the re emergence of a rare, deadly bacterial infection they can contract from their pet as cases in the United States have tripled.
Officials in Minnesota have major concerns over the disease, called tularemia, after recording a three-fold surge in infections, with 21 cases in the state in 2023 compared to the average of seven. And this year, they have already recorded as many.
Cases are also on the rise nationwide, with the US recording a 60 percent increase in infections over the decade to 2019. Arkansas, the nation’s hotspot, records 46 cases per year on average.
Experts say more contact with wild animals, including among pets, is behind the rise — but say more testing and awareness of the disease could also be driving the uptick.
Felines are common carries of tularemia — also called rabbit fever — and can contract it when they catch wild animals like rabbits and mice. Cats may then spread the disease to their owners via bites or scratches — causing blisters and rashes that may lead to life-threatening infections like sepsis.
Cats can contract tularemia by coming into contact with infected rabbits, mice or other small mammals. They can then transfer it to humans via a scratch (stock)
The above map shows cases of tularemia recorded in each US state over the years 2011 to 2019
Dogs can also catch the infection, although it is less likely because they don’t tend to hunt small mammals. The disease can also be transmitted by bites from ticks and deerfly — which pick it up by biting infected animals.
Tularemia is not spread from person to person.
In a more unusual route of infection, one of the patients in Minnesota caught the disease this month after mowing over a dead animal and breathing in the aerosolized bacteria.
Another became infected after they were bitten by a stray cat.
Patients suffer from a fever five days after being infected, which can then progress into a range of symptoms.
If the disease is not diagnosed and treated properly it can lead to sepsis — a severe life-threatening infection where an over-reaction of the immune system causes organs to begin to shut down.
In cats, the disease is serious and kills up to 60 percent of felines that do not receive treatment. Warning signs include swelling, anorexia and extreme exhaustion.
The infection is treated using antibiotics such as streptomycin and gentamicin, powerful drugs also used to treat tuberculosis and heart infections.
About 200 people catch tularemia in the US every year, mostly in south-central and western states.
The Illinois Department of Health says five to 15 percent of people who do not have their infections treated do not survive.
But among those who receive antibiotics, they say the fatality rate is less than one percent and few deaths have been reported.
Cats, both feral and domestic, can carry numerous diseases – some of which can be passed on to humans
Officials said the increase ‘is likely partially driven by increased recognition and testing by veterinarians.’
Warning over the disease, officials said: ‘It’s important for pet owners to be aware of this disease in their pets because it is possible for a person to become infected as well.
‘Pet owners need to be aware that cats, especially, can become very ill with a high fever and can quickly succumb to the disease.’
Cats are common carriers of a range of diseases, also including rabies, plague and sporotrichosis — a fungus that can infect the lungs.
With many of the conditions, felines do not normally show symptoms until the condition is advanced — meaning people may not realize their cat is infected and could have transferred a disease to humans.
Veterinarians recommend stopping cats from hunting and having contact with wild animals in order to limit the risk of infection.
Owners should also use tick preventative medication for cats and some vets suggest people keep their felines indoors at all times.
