A man catches a rare disease of "his cat" leaving him with giant boils on his face

It is thought that a man caught a rare disease from his cat that left him with huge boils on his face.

The man, originally from Missouri, United States, first suffered from fever and began to have painful swelling on the right side of his neck.

He has been diagnosed with glandular tularemia, a rare disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis that can cause fatal pneumonia in more than half of cases, according to the People.

Doctors believe that it comes from his cat.

About two days before the 68-year-old patient presented with symptoms, her cat died after a veterinarian diagnosed her with feline leukemia without lab tests, according to reports.

It is thought that the cat suffered from glandular tularemia when its owner treated her with medication.

The case was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, which stated: "Domestic cats can be infected by the consumption of infected prey and can transmit the bacteria to humans."

The report states that the patient was treated with antibiotics for one month and that the lesions improved within five days and elapsed within three weeks.

Symptoms of glandular tularemia may include skin ulcers, fatigue, fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and chills.

It is usually contracted by the bite of a tick or an infected deer fly or by handling sick or dead animals.