‘Rabbit Fever’ suspected in New York as rare illness resurfaces

Three people on Long Island have tested positive for tularemia, a rare and potentially serious infection better known by its old nickname, rabbit fever.

Quick Take

Suffolk County, New York health officials confirmed three tularemia cases, with a fourth later reported.
The bacterial disease spreads through tick and deer fly bites, contact with infected animals, or contaminated dust and water.
Symptoms can be far more severe than common tick illnesses like Lyme disease, including high fevers and painful swollen lymph nodes.
Federal data show tularemia cases have been climbing nationally, though it remains uncommon overall.

Health Officials Confirm Cases On Long Island

Suffolk County health officials confirmed three residents came down with tularemia, commonly called rabbit fever, according to NBC New York’s reporting on the outbreak. Doctors say the illness can hit harder than typical tick-borne diseases. It can trigger high fevers and deep exhaustion that lingers well beyond a normal fever’s course, making early diagnosis important for anyone with recent tick exposure on Long Island.

A fourth case surfaced days later, with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services confirming the additional infection and continuing its investigation into how the cluster developed. County records show tularemia isn’t brand new to the area. There were three cases in 2023, four in 2024, and six in 2025, suggesting a steady, if small, presence of the bacteria in local wildlife and insect populations.

How People Actually Catch Rabbit Fever

The bacterium behind tularemia, Francisella tularensis, doesn’t spread between people. Instead, it jumps from animals to humans through tick bites, deer fly bites, or direct contact with infected creatures like rabbits, hares, and rodents. People can also get sick by drinking contaminated water or breathing in dust kicked up from agricultural work or, oddly enough, from running a lawnmower over an infected animal carcass.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes tularemia as a potentially serious illness that can enter the body multiple ways, including skin contact, inhaling contaminated aerosols, and even laboratory exposure for workers handling samples. Symptoms usually show up within a few days to two weeks and range from mild fever and chills to painfully swollen lymph nodes, skin ulcers, or in rare cases, pneumonia-like illness.

National Numbers Show A Rising Trend

This isn’t just a Long Island story. CDC surveillance data covering 2011 through 2022 recorded 2,462 tularemia cases nationwide, a noticeable climb compared to the previous decade. Of those cases, 40 percent met the strict lab-confirmed standard while 60 percent were classified as probable, a split that reflects how health agencies count cases before every lab result is finalized.

That confirmed-versus-probable distinction matters for understanding the Suffolk County story too. Some early reports, including one from CNN, described the initial three cases as probable rather than fully confirmed, a routine part of how public health surveillance works while testing wraps up. It’s a technical detail, not a reason to doubt that people got sick, but it explains why case counts sometimes shift slightly as agencies update their records.

Why Suffolk County Keeps Showing Up In The Data

A CDC review of New York State tularemia cases from 1993 through 2023 found 30 total cases statewide, and 43 percent of them came from Suffolk County alone. Nearly 70 percent of all New York cases were diagnosed between 2014 and 2023, showing the disease has become more common in recent years rather than less. One person died during that three-decade span, underscoring that while treatable with antibiotics, tularemia deserves to be taken seriously.

4th case of 'rabbit fever' reported in New York.

A fourth case of a rare bacterial illness has been detected on Long Island, health officials in New York said on Thursday.

Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS), confirmed… pic.twitter.com/X2kQ6wHN3k

— Deborah (@Deborah07849071) August 7, 2026

Researchers even found the bacteria in local tick populations, detecting it in a pool of nymph ticks collected from Suffolk County, direct evidence that the pathogen has a foothold in the region’s insect and wildlife ecosystem. For residents, the practical takeaway hasn’t changed: use tick repellent, check for ticks after outdoor activity, and see a doctor quickly if a high fever or swollen glands show up after a bite or contact with wild animals.