I was looking for something else, and found this- not just a disease of rabbits and rodents:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tularaemia


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regard F. tularensis as a viable bioweapons agent, and it has been included in the biological warfare programs of the USA, USSR and Japan at various times.[16] A former Soviet biological weapons scientist, Kenneth Alibek, has alleged that an outbreak of Tularemia among German soldiers shortly before the siege of Stalingrad was due to the release of F. tularensis by Soviet forces, but this claim is rejected by others who have studied the outbreak.[17] In the US, practical research into using tularemia as a bioweapon took place in 1954 at Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas, an extension of the Camp Detrick program.[18] It was viewed as an attractive agent because:

it is easy to aerosolize
it is highly infective; 10-50 bacteria are required to infect
it is non-persistent and easy to decontaminate (unlike anthrax)
it is highly incapacitating to infected persons
it has comparatively low lethality, which is useful where enemy soldiers are in proximity to non-combatants, e.g. civilians
The Schu S4 strain was standardized as Agent UL for use in the U.S. M143 bursting spherical bomblet. It was a lethal biological with an anticipated fatality rate of 40 to 60 percent. The rate-of-action was around three days, with a duration-of-action of 1 to 3 weeks (treated) and 2 to 3 months (untreated) with frequent relapses. UL was streptomycin resistant. The aerobiological stability of UL was a major concern, being sensitive to sun light, and losing virulence over time after release. When the 425 strain was standardized as agent JT (an incapacitant rather than lethal agent), the Schu S4 strain's symbol was changed again to SR.[citation needed]

Both wet and dry types of F. tularensis (identified by the codes TT and ZZ) were examined during the "Red Cloud" tests, which took place from November 1966 to February 1967 in the Tanana Valley, Alaska.[19]

No vaccine is available to the general public.[20] The best way to prevent tularemia infection is to wear rubber gloves when handling or skinning lagomorphs (such as rabbits), avoid ingesting uncooked wild game and untreated water sources, wear long-sleeved clothes, and use an insect repellent to prevent tick bites.

[edit] Documented outbreaks
In the summer of 2000, an outbreak of tularemia in Martha's Vineyard resulted in one fatality, and brought the interest of the CDC as a potential investigative ground for aerosolized Francisella tularensis. Over the following summers, Martha's Vineyard was identified as the only place in the world where documented cases of tularemia resulted from lawn mowing.[21]

An outbreak of tularemia occurred in Kosovo in 1999-2000.[22]

In 2004, three researchers at Boston University Medical Center were accidentally infected with F. tularensis, after apparently failing to follow safety procedures.[23]

In 2005, small amounts of F. tularensis were detected in the Mall area of Washington, DC the morning after an anti-war demonstration on September 24, 2005. Biohazard sensors were triggered at six locations surrounding the Mall. While thousands of people were potentially exposed, no infections were reported. [24]

Tularemia is endemic in the Gori region of Eurasian country of Georgia. The last outbreak was in 2006.[25]

In 2007, a lab of Boston University's Center for Advanced Biomedical Research, where F. tularensis were being kept for research, was evacuated after smoke set off alarms. An investigation has later determined that an electrical problem was the culprit, and no bacterial contamination was found.

In July 2007, an outbreak was reported in the Spanish autonomous region of Castile and León and traced to the plague of voles infesting the region. Another outbreak had taken place ten years before in the same area.[26]

In August 2009, a Swedish tourist was bitten by an unidentified insect at Point Grey, Vancouver, BC, Canada. It was not until after return to Sweden he was diagnosed with Tularemia, despite seeking medical treatment in Vancouver