Tularemia: emergence/re-emergence

Authors

Jeannine M. Petersen, Bacterial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Foothills Campus, PO Box 2087, Ft. Collins, CO
Martin E. Schriefer, Bacterial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Foothills Campus, PO Box 2087, Ft. Collins, CO

Date of this Version

April 2005

Comments

Published in Vet. Res. 36 (2005) 455–467. © INRA, EDP Sciences, 2005. Used by permission.

Abstract

Francisella tularensis is a gram-negative coccobacillus and the etiologic agent of the zoonotic disease tularemia. First described in 1911 in Tulare County, California, it has since been reported throughout the Northern Hemisphere, with natural infections reported among an unusually wide range of vertebrates and invertebrates. In recent years, tularemia has emerged in new geographic locations, populations, and settings. This review will serve to highlight mechanisms contributing to the recent emergence of tularemia as well as a repertoire of diagnostic tools useful for detecting and diagnosing disease.