Northern Sydney woman catches rare disease from possum scratch
The first probable case of a rare and sometimes fatal disease has been discovered in a woman in Northern Sydney after she was scratched by a possum.
Manly
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People are being urged to avoid touching possums following the first probable case of the rare and sometimes fatal disease tularaemia in NSW.
A woman in Northern Sydney was bitten and scratched by a ringtail possum in early March, and since developed symptoms including swollen lymph glands, fatigue, and a sore throat.
Further testing is continuing to confirm the diagnosis.
NSW Health’s Acting Director of Communicable Diseases, Keira Glasgow, said that while the disease is highly contagious, most people fully recover with appropriate antibiotics.
The extremely rare bacterial disease can be transmitted to humans from infected animals but not from human-to-human.
“The best way to prevent tularaemia is to avoid touching or handling any wildlife,” Ms Glasgow said.
Only two cases of tularaemia have been reported in people in Australia previously, both of had been bitten or scratched by possums in Tasmania in 2011.
The type of bacteria present in Australia is less virulent than the type seen in North America, and there have been no deaths associated with the disease in Australia.
“If you see sick or injured wildlife, do not pick it up or try to rescue it. Instead, contact the experts at your local licensed wildlife care group or local veterinarian,” she said.
Symptoms of tularaemia include fever, chills, fatigue, body aches, headache and nausea, which appear within two weeks of exposure to the bacteria.
People exposed to the bacteria through bites and scratches to their skin will also develop an ulcer at the wound.
“If you have become unwell with these symptoms after recently touching a possum, especially if you were bitten or scratched, it is important to seek medical treatment early,” Ms Glasgow said.
Worldwide, tularaemia can affect a wide range of animals including rabbits, hares, rodents and wildlife. The infection has only been found in two possums in Australia, which died in separate clusters in 2002 and 2003.
The Taronga Conservation Society’s Australian Registry of Wildlife Health is assisting the NSW Health investigation in this rare occurrence of the disease.