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Tularemia Found in Two Dead Hares in Glacier's Many Glacier Valley
One was on the trail to Swiftcurrent Falls. The park asks visitors not to touch carcasses and to treat their water.
Two dead snowshoe hares found in Glacier National Park's Many Glacier Valley have tested positive for tularemia, a rare but serious bacterial disease, the park said October 15. One was found September 26 in the Park Service staff housing area at Many Glacier, and the other September 30 along the trail to the Swiftcurrent Falls viewing area.
Tularemia occurs naturally and is most often spread by bites from infected ticks or flies. People and pets can also catch it from handling infected animals, from contaminated food or water, or by breathing bacteria released from disturbed carcasses. Person-to-person spread is rare.
The park's precautions: use insect repellent and check yourself, children and pets for ticks; wash your hands often; keep away from wildlife and do not touch carcasses; drink only treated or boiled water; and avoid anything, like mowing or trimming, that could disturb dead animals. Report dead animals to park staff.
Symptoms in people include fever, chills, aches, headache, dry cough, chest pain, swollen lymph nodes and sores at a tick bite. Anyone who develops them within two weeks of visiting should see a doctor and mention possible tularemia exposure; it is treatable with antibiotics.
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