Tularemia in Colorado

[Upwolf]

Is this actually something to be concerned about if I am harvesting and eating squirrels and rabbit/hare from the mountains of Colorado? I grew up raising meat rabbits and frankly never heard of this until recently. Seems like cooking should do the trick. Are there other things to be weary of?

 

[huntsman22]

No worries if you wait for a couple hard freezes and toss any that have spots on the liver.....

 

[E.Shell]

I haven't heard of tularemia in years, but 50-60 years ago it was in all the outdoor magazines and considered a major threat to rabbit hunting.

Word was to discard any rabbits with spotted livers. I've never heard of squirrels having it.

 

[Blockcaver]

Had Tularemia about 30+ years ago. Caught it from a cottontail I arrowed in NW CO (Moffatt Co). Was antelope hunting in Sept. Got one, then added a couple bunnies. Had a nick on my finger from cutting up the antelope. Infection actually put a blood poisoning streak up my arm and gave me a swelled lymph node in that arm pit. Golden, CO Dr was really slow to diagnose it, despite my mentioning the rabbit hunt.

Got pretty sick. Spent 2 days on IV’s (gentamicin) after having a 105* F fever.

CO health dept called me. We talked about my case of tularemia and others. Turns out they had the most cases in January the previous year. They said it’s in the rabbit population year around.