Ticks test positive for tularemia, first detection in county this year

Several ticks trapped in routine monitoring along Lopez Canyon Trail in Sorrento Valley have tested positive for tularemia, prompting San Diego County Vector Control officials to urge people to remember to protect themselves and their pets when hiking.

The best way to do that, county officials said, is to start by wearing insect repellent, proper clothing and by using insect control products on their pets that kill fleas and ticks.

Tularemia, also known as "rabbit fever," is a bacterial disease. Tularemia can be successfully treated with antibiotics, but it can make people seriously ill and ev...