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TULAREMIA
JAMA published a consensus article covering
tularemia as a biological weapon. The pdf file is available here:
- Tularemia is a bacterial
zoonosis. Francisella tularenisis is an
aerobic, small, nonmotile, gram-negative
coccobacillus.
It is hardy and non-spore-forming and
survives for weeks in moist soil, hay, or decaying
animal carcasses. It is a facultative intracellular
bacterium
- The clinical forms of tularemia
include ulcerglandular, glandular, oculoglandular,
oropharyngeal, pneumonic, typhoidal, and septic.
- Natural tularemia is
almost entirely a rural disease. Epizootics
with extensive animal deaths can herald
human outbreaks. Most natural cases occur
from June to September.
- Transmission from person
to person has not been documented.
- A tularemia attack should
be suspected when (3-5 days later) large
numbers of an urban young healthy population
develop an acute febrile illness with a
significant number of cases of
pleuropneumonia. Multiple cases of
inhalational tularemia in an urban setting
is suspicious for an attack.
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