Francisella tularensis

Francisella tularensis

Hosts

Human and animal

Transmission/Exposure Routes

Cutaneous, ingestion and inhalation

Case Fatality Ratio

Untreated, tularemia has a mortality rate of 5-15%; this rate is even higher with the typhoidal form. Appropriate antibiotics lower this rate to about 1%. (Medscape)

Incubation Period

Incubation period is typically 3-6 days.

Burden of Disease

Symptomology

Symptoms may vary depending on how the bacteria have entered the body. Swelling of regional lymph glands accompany most forms of infection. Ulcers form on the skin if the infection has been transmitted through a tick or deer fly bite to the skin. Eye irritation can be caused by the bacteria entering through the eye. More serious forms of infection occur when the bacteria are ingested through the mouth, either with food and water or by inhalation. Symptoms may then include cough, chest pain, sore throat, difficulty breathing, mouth ulcers, and tonsillitis. CDC

Immunity

No effective vaccine is currently available

Microbiology

Pathogenic species of gram-negative bacteria and the causative agent of tularemia or rabbit fever. It is a facultative intracellular bacterium

Environmental Survival

Capable of surviving outside of a mammalian host for weeks

Recommended Dose Response Model

Dose response models for Francisella tularensis
Exponential, k is 0.047

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisella_tularensis
http://www.cdc.gov/tularemia/index.html
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/787109-overview#showall
A. Tarnvik and L. Berglund
CDC