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Article: Real-time PCR for Francisella tularensis types A and B.(LETTERS)(polymerase chain reaction)
- Article from:
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Article date:
- November 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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To the Editor: Francisella tularensis, the etiologic agent of tularemia, is highly infectious and considered a potential bioweapon (1-3). Although 4 subspecies of F. tularensis are recognized, most cases of tularemia are due to infection by subsp, tularensis (type A) or holarctica (type B). North America is the only region where both type A and type B cause human disease. Subspecies novicida is also found in North America, but it is of reduced virulence. Disease incidence attributable to either type A or type B is essentially unknown because the traditional method for classification of these subspecies is glycerol fermentation, which requires culture recovery (4). F. ...