Suffolk County Reports 3 Probable Tularemia Cases as Bad Tick Season Raises Risk
Updated
Updated · WABC-TV · Jul 31
Suffolk County Reports 3 Probable Tularemia Cases as Bad Tick Season Raises Risk
3 articles · Updated · WABC-TV · Jul 31
Summary
Three probable tularemia cases have been logged in Suffolk County this year, with officials warning that lab confirmation can take several weeks and New York state still listing no confirmed 2026 cases.
A particularly bad tick season is driving concern, doctors said, as tularemia can spread through ticks or flies that have contacted sick wild rabbits.
John Detmer, 9, fell ill after a late-April tick bite in Riverhead, suffering severe head and neck pain and a 10-day fever before a specialist identified tularemia.
About 200 U.S. cases are reported annually, and doctors say antibiotics can treat the illness, but recovery may take weeks or months, making prevention—covering skin and avoiding sick or dead rabbits—critical.