This is a new one on me. I've never heard of it.
I must go round checking the neighbours to see if they've got any pet rabbits.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/18Mar2008_news03.php
Rabbit fever in Prachuapkirikhan
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sandman67
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A little factual correction following research the lazy sods at the BP failed to do (or didn't because it allows them to blame it on a wider spread of farangs given the stance of the paper)....
The reason us Europeans, where the disease is endemic, havent heard of it is because.....
there has been one small outbreak of it in 2007 in an area of Spain. Hardly endemic.....in fact not endemic at all.
In research this is whats termed an "Elite Republican Guard" statement.....make it sound big and bad.
Most incidents have been in North America, and the disease is in fact named after a Californian county.
Have a look here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tularemia.
We await the wisdom of SadSak who will no doubt be discussing this on his cooking/chat show Sunday morning......guess rabbit is now off the menu.
The reason us Europeans, where the disease is endemic, havent heard of it is because.....
there has been one small outbreak of it in 2007 in an area of Spain. Hardly endemic.....in fact not endemic at all.
In research this is whats termed an "Elite Republican Guard" statement.....make it sound big and bad.
Most incidents have been in North America, and the disease is in fact named after a Californian county.
Have a look here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tularemia.
We await the wisdom of SadSak who will no doubt be discussing this on his cooking/chat show Sunday morning......guess rabbit is now off the menu.
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
"To sin by silence makes cowards of men."
"To sin by silence makes cowards of men."
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bozzman101
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put on a face mask when you go past the fluffy bunny stall in grand market!!!!!!!!!!!! 
I'll post the article as the Post tends to lock them away in the archives after a couple of days:
Woman dies from rabbit fever
The Public Health Ministry yesterday declared rabbit fever an emerging disease in Thailand after its first victim was diagnosed in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Disease Control Department director-general Thawat Sundarachan said a 37-year-old woman who suffered from cancer was Thailand's first rabbit fever, or tularemia, fatality.
Rabbit fever is a disease borne by rodents and rabbits, and is endemic in North America and Europe.
Dr Thawat said the woman, whose name was withheld, had kept a number of rabbits in her house and could have been infected by Francisella tularensis, the bacterium that causes the disease, through either the breath or bodily secretions of her infected pets.
Humans can also be infected by eating the meat of infected animals and being bitten by fleas from infected animals. The infection's incubation period in humans is three to five days, according to the ministry official.
Initially, if the infection is through inhalation it causes a fever, if it is through food it causes diarrhea, and if it is through the skin it causes an infected wound leading to swollen lymph nodes.
As the initial symptoms are so common, infected people could disregard them but would be in danger two weeks later when the bacteria enter the bloodstream causing blood poisoning.
However, the disease can be cured with antibiotics, namely streptomycin and gentamicin, only if patients reach the doctor soon enough, said Dr Thawat.
He dismissed concerns about an outbreak, saying that there is no threat of human-to-human transmission and that relatives of the dead, who live under the same roof, should not worry.
Cancer might have made the woman too weak to fight the disease, he said.
The ministry is waiting for the results of another lab test from the United States to see if the rabbit fever is of strains A or B which are more dangerous. The results are expected in two weeks.
The best prevention against such a threat in households is not to keep unusual imported pets, not coming into direct contact with them, washing one's hands after making such contact, and getting rid of fleas.
As the disease is new in Thailand, the ministry has asked the Livestock Development Department to test animals randomly nationwide and educate both the general public and doctors on the subject as local medical textbooks have not covered it. Thailand is obliged to report the case to the World Health Organisation.
The chief of the public health office in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Pipop Janesuthivejjakul, appeared unshaken by the news of the disease.
He said the public should not panic over the news of the woman's death which took place in Kui Buri district last October. The provincial office knew of no other victims in the country.
Dr Pipop complained he should have been told of the lab results before the news was given to the press.
Woman dies from rabbit fever
The Public Health Ministry yesterday declared rabbit fever an emerging disease in Thailand after its first victim was diagnosed in Prachuap Khiri Khan.
Disease Control Department director-general Thawat Sundarachan said a 37-year-old woman who suffered from cancer was Thailand's first rabbit fever, or tularemia, fatality.
Rabbit fever is a disease borne by rodents and rabbits, and is endemic in North America and Europe.
Dr Thawat said the woman, whose name was withheld, had kept a number of rabbits in her house and could have been infected by Francisella tularensis, the bacterium that causes the disease, through either the breath or bodily secretions of her infected pets.
Humans can also be infected by eating the meat of infected animals and being bitten by fleas from infected animals. The infection's incubation period in humans is three to five days, according to the ministry official.
Initially, if the infection is through inhalation it causes a fever, if it is through food it causes diarrhea, and if it is through the skin it causes an infected wound leading to swollen lymph nodes.
As the initial symptoms are so common, infected people could disregard them but would be in danger two weeks later when the bacteria enter the bloodstream causing blood poisoning.
However, the disease can be cured with antibiotics, namely streptomycin and gentamicin, only if patients reach the doctor soon enough, said Dr Thawat.
He dismissed concerns about an outbreak, saying that there is no threat of human-to-human transmission and that relatives of the dead, who live under the same roof, should not worry.
Cancer might have made the woman too weak to fight the disease, he said.
The ministry is waiting for the results of another lab test from the United States to see if the rabbit fever is of strains A or B which are more dangerous. The results are expected in two weeks.
The best prevention against such a threat in households is not to keep unusual imported pets, not coming into direct contact with them, washing one's hands after making such contact, and getting rid of fleas.
As the disease is new in Thailand, the ministry has asked the Livestock Development Department to test animals randomly nationwide and educate both the general public and doctors on the subject as local medical textbooks have not covered it. Thailand is obliged to report the case to the World Health Organisation.
The chief of the public health office in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Pipop Janesuthivejjakul, appeared unshaken by the news of the disease.
He said the public should not panic over the news of the woman's death which took place in Kui Buri district last October. The provincial office knew of no other victims in the country.
Dr Pipop complained he should have been told of the lab results before the news was given to the press.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
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sandman67
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its a disease spread by fleas, ticks etc that LIVE on rabbits and rodents.Rabbit fever is a disease borne by rodents and rabbits, and is endemic in North America and Europe.
It isn't endemic at all....two recent reported outbreaks were false alarms...
Lies, damn lies....and The Bangkok Post
"Science flew men to the moon. Religion flew men into buildings."
"To sin by silence makes cowards of men."
"To sin by silence makes cowards of men."