The infected are soldiers of the basic service and also cadets of the military college. According to the Finnish station, they became infected during the past seven days while serving in the field on the Finnish island of Santahamina in Helsinki. They were probably infected by mosquitoes or other insects.
All those infected have a fever and a rash, symptoms typical of tularemia or rabbit disease. The soldiers are now under the care of doctors and their state of health is “good”.
Tularemia is a relatively rare disease in Europe. However, it occurs more in Finland, it is the country with the most frequent occurrence of this disease. It is most often transmitted by mosquitoes, and most cases are in summer and autumn. However, there is no danger of an epidemic among people, because it does not spread from person to person. It is treated with antibiotics.
