County confirms first case of tick disease
Marion County Public Health Administrator Diedre Serene reported Monday that she has received confirmation of a case of tularemia in Marion County.
Serene said the lab work that confirmed the diagnosis was received in her office after 4 p.m. Friday. She said there is another suspected case.
She stays in contact with Kansas Department of Health several times a day, and keeps in touch with local physicians as she monitors the potential outbreak.
"At this point we don't know if the confirmed case was from inhalation or a tick bite," Serene said.
The disease cannot be spread from one person to the next but people can become infected if exposed to an animal infected by a tick bite.
The county nurse encouraged residents to prevent tick bites by using insect sprays and check their bodies for the pests.
If a person is bit by a tick and begins to exhibit flu-like symptoms or shortness of breath, seek medical treatment.
"Prevention is the best way to deal with them," Serene said.
