<i>Notes from the Field:</i> Increase in Human and Animal Tularemia Cases — Minnesota, 2024

Tularemia is an uncommon but potentially serious bacterial zoonotic disease caused by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Tier 1 select agent Francisella tularensis that affects 200-300 persons annually in the United States (1).Although cases are reported from almost every state, tularemia is most frequently reported from the central United States.Symptoms vary based on the exposure route and commonly include fever and localized symptoms (e.g., lymphadenopathy and skin ulcers).Humans and animals are usually infected through the bites of arthropods (typically ticks and deer flies), contact with infected animals, or inhalation of contaminated material.No Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccine for prevention of tularemia exists.During 2000-2023, a median of one human and two animal cases were reported annually to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and Board of Animal Health, respectively.Animal tularemia cases increased significantly in 2023, when 20 animal cases, but no human cases, were reported.In 2024, five human cases and 27 animal cases were reported in Minnesota, all in the seven-county Minneapolis-St.Paul metropolitan area.MDH staff members investigated each reported human and animal case to identify exposures and provide public health recommendations.This activity was reviewed by CDC,