Suffolk County reports three probable tularemia cases linked to tick bites
Health officials in Suffolk County have identified three likely cases of tularemia, a rare bacterial infection transmitted by ticks that have fed on infected wildlife, prompting a local tick sweep and public health advisory.
Suffolk County health officials said Thursday they are aware of three probable cases of tularemia, a rare but serious bacterial illness that can be spread to people by ticks and flies that have fed on infected wild rabbits. The disease, sometimes called rabbit fever, typically causes high fever, swollen lymph nodes and skin sores at the bite site.
One case involves a 9-year-old boy from Riverhead who was bitten by a tick on April 23 and later developed swollen neck glands, fever and a skin lesion. He received two courses of doxycycline and was diagnosed with tularemia on May 20. The health department conducted a tick sweep at the family’s yard and indicated the tick may have been a dog tick.
The Suffolk County Health Department noted that confirming a tularemia diagnosis requires laboratory testing combined with specific clinical or epidemiologic criteria, and that test results can take several weeks. State data show four cases in Suffolk County in 2024, three in 2023 and one in 2022, while neighboring Nassau County reported a single case in 2023 and none so far this year. Nationwide, the CDC records 150 to 200 cases annually.
Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of pediatric infectious disease at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, said the infection does not spread between family members and that patients usually present with high fevers, an ulcer at the bite site and infected lymph nodes, distinguishing it from other tick-borne illnesses common on Long Island.
The department advises residents to avoid contact with ticks and to be cautious around wildlife such as rabbits, which can harbor the bacteria.