Tularemia

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Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff

Although anyone of any age can develop tularemia, certain occupations or activities pose a greater risk. They include:

  • Hunting and trapping. Because hunters handle wild animals, are exposed to animal blood and may eat wild meat, they are at risk of tularemia.
  • Gardening or landscaping. Gardeners and landscapers may also be at risk of tularemia. They are more likely to develop pneumonic tularemia, one of the least common and most deadly forms of the disease. It's possible that gardeners inhale bacteria that are stirred up while working the soil or when using mowers and weed trimmers.
  • Wildlife management and veterinary medicine. People who work with wildlife are at increased risk of tularemia.
  • Science and medicine. A number of medical professionals working with F. tularensis have contracted pneumonic tularemia.

DS00714

April 19, 2008

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