Tularemia: what is it and how to fight it

Until the year 26 of the last century in Russia, tularemiaconsidered a "chamber" type of plague. Its manifestations largely coincided with the clinical plague, but were much less lethal. After the isolation of the bacteria responsible for the disease with tularemia by Californian scientists in the year 11 of the same century, it became clear that the recorded cases were not an easy 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 spread by all the same rodents that were to blame for plague pandemics. Tularemia can also be transmitted from diseased (dead) animals, and through insect bites-fleas and ticks living on infected rodents, and through water, grain, hay, with which the sick, say, mice come in contact. Bacteria can enter the body by air, and through the eyes and mucous membranes. Very often it was infected by hunters during the cutting of carcasses of sick rabbits or muskrats.

Symptoms of the disease

So, a person is suspected of having tularemia. What it is she, can testify to fever, insomnia, migraine headaches, swelling of lymph nodes, which in this case are very painful. Often these nodes begin to fester. At night, a person sweats very much. A couple of days later, buboes are formed. It is worthwhile to make sure: the patient has tularemia. That this is not a plague, show laboratory tests, but the infected is still isolated, although from person to person, it is believed that tularemia is not transmitted.

Two things can be considered good news. First, the mortality from this disease is very low - less than one percent. Secondly, once having had a pain, a person can never fear the diagnosis of "tularemia" again. What is this, if not a gift of fate? In fact from many infectious diseases the stable lifelong immunity is not developed.

Prevention is the guarantee of health

The main measure to prevent the spread of thisdiseases - deratization of premises, both residential and industrial. In order not to catch the disease of tularemia, it is necessary to take measures to avoid insect bites - proper clothing, use of ointments and sprays from ticks, anti-bullying policy in relation to pets. Sources of drinking water in places where tularemia infection was recorded should be under strict sanitary supervision and control.

People whose profession implies an increasedrisk of catching this disease, must be vaccinated. The vaccination against tularemia is a scratch on the shoulder, into which a fresh vaccine is introduced. Immunity graft does not give life, so it has to be repeated every 5 years.

Possible consequences

Than more "good" tularemia - complications after itare relatively rare. Among them in the first place secondary pneumonia, to cure which at the current level of medicine is no problem. Much less often there are meningitis, arthritis, neuroses and meningoencephalitis.

So, if by activity you riskget a tularemia, do not forget to go to a polyclinic for an inoculation. Let it be easily treated, letting it rarely give complications, but it is better not to run into it, especially in your own body.