(MENAFN) Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control announced on Tuesday the detection of its first tularemia case in almost three years, signaling renewed attention to the rare but serious infectious disease.

The CDC confirmed the patient is a woman in her 70s from southern Taiwan who initially experienced fever and general weakness. Blood tests subsequently identified the presence of the tularemia-causing bacterium. After a two-week hospitalization, her symptoms improved, and she was discharged. The exact source of her infection remains unknown.

Since tularemia was classified as an infectious disease in Taiwan in 2007, only three cases have been documented: two imported cases from the United States in 2011 and a local infection in 2021.

Tularemia, commonly called “rabbit fever,” is caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis, which naturally infects wildlife such as rabbits, hares, voles, muskrats, beavers, and water rats. Even minimal exposure to the pathogen can lead to illness.

Transmission routes include bites from ticks or deer flies, direct contact with infected animal tissue, consuming contaminated food or water, or inhaling dust carrying the bacteria. Importantly, the CDC stated that no cases of human-to-human transmission have been reported.

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