Man gets potentially deadly bacterial disease

A man in Wichita Falls was recently diagnosed with Tularemia - also known as Rabbit Fever. Health officials say it's a rare bacterial infection for this area that comes from tick and deer fly bites, skin contact with infected animals like rabbits and rats, and ingesting contaminated water.

The Wichita Falls Health Department says they spoke to the man and got some background information including any contact he had with rodents or rabbits and any travel he did to areas in the U.S. that have the disease.

Tularemia can be deadly if the symptoms aren't caught early and the disease progresses. Health department officials say the good news is it can be treated with antibiotics. The disease cannot be transmitted form person to person - only animal to person. You have to have some contact with either a tick or fly bite or an infected animal.  

According to family members, the Wichita Falls man with the disease has been transferred to Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas for further treatment.