Tularemia (Francisella tularensis), also know as rabbit fever, deerfly fever, and Ohara's disease, like the plague, is a bacterial infection that can occur naturally from the bite of insects, usually ticks deerflies. The disease can also be acquired from contact with infected rabbits, muskrats, and squirrels, ingestion of contaminated food, or inhalation of contaminated dust. Once contracted, it is not directly spread from human to human. tularemia remains infectious in the blood for about 2 weeks and in lesions for a month. It remains ineffective in deerflies for 14 days and ticks throughout their lifetime (about 2 years). The disease can occur at anytime of the year, but is most common in the early winter during rabbit hunting season and in the summer when tick and deerfly activity is at its peak. Tularemia contracted naturally has a death rate of approximately 5%