Treatment:

The goal of treatment is to cure the infection with antibiotics. Streptomycin and tetracycline are commonly used to treat this infection. Once daily gentamicin treatment has been tried with excellent results as an alternative therapy to streptomycin. However, because this is a rare disease, only a few cases have been studied to-date.

Tetracycline and chloramphenicol can be used alone, but they have a high relapse rate and are not considered a first-line treatment.

Note: Oral tetracycline is usually not prescribed for children until after all their permanent teeth have come in. It can permanently discolor teeth that are still forming.

Expectations (prognosis):

Tularemia is fatal in about 5% of untreated cases, and in less than 1% of treated cases.

Complications:

• Bone infection (osteomyelitis)
• Infection of the sac around the heart (pericarditis)
• Meningitis
• Pneumonia

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if symptoms develop after a rodent bite, tick bite, or exposure to the flesh of a wild animal.