Abstract
Francisella tularensis is the aetiological agent of tularemia, a plague-like disease of rodents capable of being transmitted to man. Tularemia is a zoonosis, found in a wide range of animals such as rabbits, hares, rodents, and beavers (1). Transmission occurs usually through the bite of an insect, such as a tick, biting fly, or mosquito (2–5) but can also be through ingestion of infected foodstuffs (3) and drinking water (6), or through inhalation of the bacterium (7). In humans, the most common presentation is ulceroglandular tularemia, a disease typified by flu-like symptoms, normally with a low mortality rate (8). An ulcer forms at the site of infection, which can persist for several months. Other forms of tularemia, such as typhoidal, gastrointestinal, and pneumonic tularemia, are more serious diseases and may have mortality rates up to 60%, depending on the type of strain causing infection (7). F. tularensis subspecies tularensisis one of the most infectious pathogens known, with an infectious dose of less than 10 colony-forming units (CFU) in humans (9,10).
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Andersson, S.G.E., Forsman, M., Oyston, P.C.F., Titball, R.W. (2005). Genomics for Biodefense. In: Lindler, L.E., Lebeda, F.J., Korch, G.W. (eds) Biological Weapons Defense. Infectious Disease. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-764-5:435
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