Taiwan reports first tularemia case since 2022 with source unknown

Taipei, Aug. 12 (CNA) Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Tuesday reported a domestic case of tularemia, a zoonotic disease also known as rabbit fever, with the source of infection yet to be determined.

The first such case in Taiwan since 2022 involved a woman in her 70s from southern Taiwan with multiple chronic illnesses, including hypertension and diabetes, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said at a regular news briefing in Taipei.

She developed a fever and fatigue on July 12 and was hospitalized two days later after experiencing chills, diarrhea and difficulty urinating, Lin said, adding that laboratory tests subsequently confirmed infection with Francisella tularensis, the bacterium that causes tularemia.

Following treatment with antibiotics, the woman's condition improved and she was discharged in late July, he said.

Epidemiological investigations found the woman rarely left her home, had no contact with animals, and that there were no signs of potentially related animals, such as rats, near her residence, Lin added.

"In addition, none of her household contacts have shown related symptoms, so the source of her infection has yet to be determined," he said.

Health authorities have disinfected the woman's home and surrounding areas, and laboratories involved in the diagnosis have carried out cleaning procedures, according to the CDC.

Before the latest case, only two cases of tularemia had been reported in Taiwan since 2007, an imported case from the United States in 2011 and a domestic case in southern Taiwan around four years ago, CDC spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said.

As a zoonotic disease, tularemia is carried by wild animal hosts such as rabbits and rats, and can cause illness from even a very small amount of bacteria, Lin said, adding that there have been no reported cases of human-to-human transmission.

In terms of animal-to-human transmission, Lin said tularemia can spread through bites from ticks and deer flies, contact with infected animal tissue, ingestion of contaminated food or water, or inhalation of dust contaminated with the bacteria.

Inhalation infections caused by more virulent bacterial strains can have a fatality rate of 30-60 percent, Lin added.

Meanwhile, the CDC reported the first imported case of brucellosis in 10 years, involving a man in his 50s from northern Taiwan who traveled to Xinjiang, China, in April and had contact with horses and sheep.

He developed fever and chills in early July -- symptoms of the zoonotic disease, which is rarely transmitted between humans -- and was discharged from hospital in early August after receiving antibiotic treatment, the CDC said.

The agency also reported the death of a man in his 70s from meningococcal meningitis on Aug. 3, bringing Taiwan's total number of confirmed cases this year to six, the highest for the same period in eight years.