Cowley man dies after battle with ‘rabbit fever’

Posted 8/26/15

Michael Schwope, 74, died Aug. 16 after a 39-day struggle with the disease. Experts believe he may be the first person in Wyoming to die from tularemia this year.

The wildlife disease occurs almost every year in Wyoming, according to the Wyoming …

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Cowley man dies after battle with ‘rabbit fever’

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CASPER (AP) — Five and a half weeks of hell.

That’s how Linda Schwope of Cowley described her husband’s battle with tularemia, a bacterial disease spread to humans by rodents and rabbits, as well as ticks and deer flies.

Michael Schwope, 74, died Aug. 16 after a 39-day struggle with the disease. Experts believe he may be the first person in Wyoming to die from tularemia this year.

The wildlife disease occurs almost every year in Wyoming, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. However, there appears to be more cases in Wyoming this year, in part due to booming cottontail rabbit populations.

Officials have confirmed 11 people, including Schwope, have been infected with tularemia in 2015.

“This is a lot for one year in Wyoming,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Tracy Murphy.

He said deaths from tularemia are uncommon.

The Wyoming Department of Health has received several reports of dead rodents and rabbits seen around state, some of which have tested positive for tularemia, Murphy told the Casper Star-Tribune

“More dead animals around the state means an increased possibility that people will be exposed to it,” he added.

According to the Department of Health, people typically become infected through the bites from ticks and deer flies, but may contract the illness by handling diseased animal carcasses, eating or drinking contaminated food or water or by inhaling infected dust. Dogs and cats can also contract tularemia by eating infected animals, drinking contaminated water or through tick and deer fly bites.

Symptoms vary. Some people may have a swollen bug bite, while others may have more serious symptoms, such as swollen lymph nodes, pneumonia, a blood infection or a central nervous system infection.

Tularemia is treatable with antibiotics.

The Game and Fish department suggested residents avoid feeding wildlife and not allow pets to hunt or eat wild rodents or rabbits, since pets can transmit the disease to people. People should also avoid handling sick or dead animals. If someone must move a carcass, he or she should place it in a garbage bag using a long-handled shovel.

People should also avoid ticks in heavily wooded areas by wearing long clothing and wearing insect repellent with DEET.

Tularemia is active during warm weather, but should die off after a hard frost, Game and Fish officials reported.

Schwope said she isn’t sure how her husband contracted the disease. He was an avid hunter and also bailed hay on their farm. The couple has a dog that could have been exposed to it.

The day her husband fell sick, he entered a trance-like state that he seldom escaped during his battle with the disease, she said. He didn’t understand what people said to him, and didn’t recognize his friends or family.

The only things he could say during his admittance to Billings Clinic on July 9 were his name and date of birth.

“It was pretty traumatic,” Schwope said.

The doctors originally believed he’d had a stroke. After ruling that out, they believed he had bacterial meningitis. Eventually, a test came back positive for tularemia. His fever soared to nearly 105 degrees, as nurses tried to cool him down with ice packs, cold blankets and wet towels.

Mike Schwope was known for his sense of humor and for being a hard worker during his career as a University Extension Agent, his wife said.

Tularemia caused the recent death of a Big Horn County man and has sickened at least 10 other Wyoming residents so far this summer as the state continues to experience unusually high reported levels of the bacterial disease, according to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH).

“To see this many cases reported in Wyoming in a single year is striking,” said Dr. Tracy Murphy, state epidemiologist with WDH. “While tularemia should always be of potential concern, we typically are notified of just one or two cases annually. Over the last 25 years, the highest number of cases reported in Wyoming was six in 2001 and the last time we had a reported tularemia-linked death was in 2010.”

There have been five tularemia cases reported this year among Weston County residents, two from Crook County and one each from Goshen, Natrona, Converse and Big Horn counties. Murphy noted some of Wyoming’s neighbor states are also seeing high tularemia activity.

“Unfortunately, as we’ve seen, tularemia can be a serious, even deadly, disease,” Murphy said.

Tularemia symptoms can include fever, swollen and painful lymph glands, inflamed eyes, sore throat, mouth sores, skin ulcers and diarrhea. If the bacteria is inhaled, symptoms can include sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, joint pain, dry cough and progressive weakness and pneumonia.

Tularemia, also known as “rabbit fever” or “deer fly fever,” frequently affects rabbits, hares and rodents. People may acquire tularemia when bit by infected ticks, deer flies or horse flies. It can also be transmitted by handling infected animals; through ingestion or contact with untreated, contaminated water or insufficiently cooked meat; or by inhaling bacteria that may be present in contaminated dust or animal material.

Murphy said while tularemia cases are more commonly reported during warmer months when people are more likely to be involved in outdoor activities, some of the disease’s risk factors continue year round.

Specific precautions to help reduce tularemia risk include:

• Avoid bathing, swimming or working in untreated water and avoid drinking untreated water.

• Avoid handling rabbits, squirrels or other animals that appear sick.

• Wear rubber gloves when skinning animals, especially rabbits and squirrels; skin animals in a well-ventilated area.

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling sick or dead animals.

• Cook meat thoroughly before eating, especially rabbit and squirrel.

Recommendations to help avoid tularemia and other tick-related diseases include:

• Wear light-colored clothing to make it easier to see ticks crawling on clothing.

• Tuck pant legs into socks.

• Apply insect repellents such as those containing 20 percent or more DEET and/or picaradin.

• Upon return from potentially tick-infested areas, search self and children for ticks and remove if found.

• Check pets for ticks; use tick control products recommended by veterinarians.

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