They are shy and never attack people under usual circumstances. A bite causes the rabies virus to be inoculated into the wound along with the saliva. This disease is transmittable to humans. The bacteria causing the disease are present in the blood and body fluids of infected hares and humans usually acquire the disease during skinning and cleaning of animals. The bacteria enter through cuts and breaks in the skin.
Normal cooking kills the bacteria.
Ticks are responsible for transmitting the disease from animal to animal and could expose humans to the disease if crushed while handling the animal. These ticks do not feed on humans. The greatest risk occurs from May through September when ticks are present. The disease falls to very low levels after freezing weather. Another less virulent variety of tularemia occurs in rodents and could be contracted by drinking improperly disinfected surface water.