Diagnosis & Treatment

Tularemia can be difficult to diagnose. It is a rare disease, and the symptoms can be mistaken for other more common illnesses. For this reason, it is important to share with your health care provider any likely exposures, such as tick and deerfly bites, or contact with sick or dead animals. Blood tests and cultures can help confirm the diagnosis. Antibiotics used to treat tularemia include streptomycin, gentamicin, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin.  Treatment usually lasts 10 to 21 days depending on the stage of illness and the medication used.  Although symptoms may last for several weeks, most patients completely recover.