PENNSYLVANIA GAME NEWS 
 
TULAREMIA AND THE SPORTSMAN 
(Continued from Page 9) 
 
for half a block. It does not suggest that you shall kneel down and 
turn over, handle or pick up every dead rabbit, ground squirrel, crow, 
buzzard, or even the carcass of a field-hunting cat, you might discover.

Remember that fleas, particularly, at once leave the body of anything 
which dies. Ticks will stick for a time on a carcass, and flies of 
course will feed on and lay eggs in carrion. 
What I mean to suggest and teach is cautionl Use judgment, dis- 
cernment and common sense in your field shooting. You would not 
pick up a soiled or bloody handkerchief to use or examine it, unless 
perhaps, you felt that you had a call to be an amateur detective. The 
average person of poise and perception would avoid such things. Like- 
wise, the experienced outdoorsman will try to avoid any possible 
infection from Tularemia. 
D. Typhoid. The word is used here only as descriptive of the 
great depression and rapid loss of strength of this form. No relation- 
ship WHATEVER exists with the fever of that name-Typhoid Fever. 
The source of this form of Tularemia has not been determined but 
it probably results from eating infected UNDERCOOKED meat. 
It will not result from rabbit or other meat, NOT infected, regard- 
less of how cooked. But it may result from infected flesh, NOT 
properly cooked. There is not present a local external sore and no 
enlargement of the glands; all symptoms are of the entire body with 
high temperature, proportional pulse rise and weakness. There is also 
a quite RARE form known as Tularemic Pneumonia in man, usually 
very sudden in onset, cough, sputum mixed with what looks like 
stringy prunejuice to the home folks, but which is really changed 
blood. The duration of this type in man is usually short with always 
fatal ending. 
Now let us consider which animals or birds are susceptible to 
Tularemia. These include the wild rabbit, ground squirrel, hare, 
chipmunk-the pretty little striped fellow along the stumps and down 
logs, the coyote, the woodchuck, porcupine and some few of the game 
birds. Crows are at times infected, as these feeders on farmland 
grains and birds eggs are not at all averse to a meal on infected 
carrion. The turkey buzzard might be a possible carrier. Transmission 
from infected animal to animal, or from animal to man, is by blood- 
sucking flies, lice, ticks, fleas, etc. We all know that field hunting 
cats and dogs pick up fleas, cattle pick up ticks, people pick up both, 
flies bite them all. Hence the spread of disease from animal to man, 
from bird to man, from one to another, can become a constant spread 
of a dread infection of much concern to us all. And of particular 
concern to sportsmen and varmint hunters and all who live or spend 
much of their time in the game fields. Again, may I suggest, be careful I

Various other diseases have been so spread, in addition to Tularemia. 
With the advance of medical science, we learn more and ever more 
of those questions of the host to infection, the carrying medium and 
the victim. Fortunately we not only learn more about how and 
where we get such things but we also learn even more about how 
to treat them and how to avoid them. May I suggest a word or 
two soon on how to AVOID becoming infected with Tularemia? 
Animals suffering from this malady, when viewed in the field, from 
an ordinary shooting distance, have a generally sick appearance. Sick 
looking when resting on fence, rock, in their form, on a stump or a 
log. They are indolent, spend little time in feeding and are not at all 
choicy about the selection of food. When disturbed, their retreat or 
getaway is slow and lacking in vigor. Of course, not all sick-looking 
animals mentioned have Tularemia, but they MAY be infected. Act 
accordingly. Don't overlook the deer flies feeding between them 
and you! 
The generally informative outline given above is intended only to 
 
convey an idea of the seriousness of the disease, its widespread area 
of attack, how such attacks occur, and what causes them. It is not 
intended to cause needless alarm or to give the impression that 
Tularemia lurks just around the corner and is present on every 
deer fly's feet. But it should suggest immediate consultation with a 
physician, YOUR physician, for direct treatment, as indicated. Do 
not expect the doctor to have in his medicine kit or his little black 
bag, a vaccine or a serum that will put you back to work in a day, 
or ready for another tour afield in a few hours; or that will immunize 
you to possible attacks. There is no such cure as yet! 
But, if you have been exposed to possible Tularemia infection, and 
a pimple turns into an ulcer, and you feel all in, go to bed and call 
the doctor. 
Prevention? Yes! Now you are THINKING! 
May I suggest: Do not hunt or wander around through farmland 
or fields in which you occasionally find a sick or a dead rabbit, obviously

not a shot rabbit. 
,Do not attempt to pick up or handle sluggish animals of the above 
rodent-vermin list. Do not bag such if sick looking, and then do not 
take home for food. 
Do not continue to dress animals with internal or external evidences 
of disease. Do not depend upon cooking to remove "any trace of 
possible infection." You may pick up something before even getting 
the game dressed. 
Do not eat game meat not thoroughly cooked through. This does 
not mean you must burn it to a crisp, but it does suggest that you 
not eat it half-raw or still with the natural raw-meat color. 
Do not continue to hunt about, or sit around in places where deer 
flies are in numbers, are biting viciously, and just ready to set upon 
you for a bite and a juicy meal. 
If you develop symptoms, in spite of all reasonable precautions, call 
your doctor. 
May it not be possible that we are entering the period where 
disease-carrying insects and pests may be controlled, where they may 
be discussed in sportsmen's magazines, in their meetings, around the 
country store even, so that the personal safety of the field shooter 
may be still further guarded day by day? For your own personal 
safety afield, common sense would suggest a pair of neat, light weight, 
well-fitting, insect-bite-proof gloves (not gauntlets), covering the 
wrists as well as the hands, when shooting in districts where Tula- 
remia infection is known. Wear these or rubber gloves when dressing 
rabbits or skinning specimens that might be infected. 
A loose-knot handkerchief well spread over the back of the neck, so 
long worn by the true cowboy of fact and fiction, would afford 
rational protection against blood-sucking flies attacking the neck, and 
some protection against ticks. Hesitate not at all in adopting sensible 
field accouterments. Be reasonably and sensibly prepared so that you 
may not become a victim of the first fly, flea or tick that sees you 
coming. 
Tularemia among rabbits and contracted from rabbits and ground 
squirrels has been mentioned before. I have tried to point out here, for

the common good of all, that the field of possible infection is much 
more extensive, and the commonest pests of the insect world may prove 
the most dangerous, because they are found in the most places, in 
the greatest numbers, and are commonly the most annoying. 
Let us look into tomorrow with the thought uppermost in mind that 
we will use that bit of care, that sensible forethought, which will take

advice or suggestion, and make tomorrow's sport both reasonably 
safe and successful. 
 
BE SURE YOU HAVE PROPER IDENTIFICA- 
TION WITH YOU WHEN YOU APPLY FOR 
YOUR HUNTING LICENSE AND WHILE YOU 
ARE IN THE FIELD. BE SURE YOU SIGN YOUR 
LICENSE 
 
ALL HUNTERS ARE URGED TO MAKE A 
SPECIAL EFFORT TO ENCOURAGE THE 
GOODWILL OF THE LANDOWNER THIS 
SEASON BY EXTENDING EVERY COURTESY 
POSSIBLE TO HIM. MAKE FRIENDS FOR 
YOURSELF AND YOUR SPORT 
 
OCTOBER