Definition of "tularemia" [tularemia]

• An infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis that chiefly affects rodents but can also be transmitted to humans through the bite of various insects or contact with infected animals. In humans, the disease is characterized by intermittent fever and swelling of the lymph nodes. Also called rabbit fever. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Molecular biologist Siro Trevisanato from Ontario, Canada, suggests that this may be a reference to a disease called tularemia which infects sheep, donkeys, rabbits, and human beings, and that it is the first instance of biological warfare in recorded history."
• "Plague, tularemia, which is also known as rabbit fever, and anthrax, they exist naturally."
• "In the 1960s, Mr. Patrick led the highly classified weaponization of tularemia, a disease he considered superior to anthrax as a biological agent because of its potency."