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Article: Multiple Francisella tularensis subspecies and clades, tularemia outbreak, Utah.(DISPATCHES)(Report)
- Article from:
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Article date:
- December 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 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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Tularemia is a zoonotic disease caused by Francisella tularensis, a highly infectious, gram-negative coccobacillus found in lagomorphs (rabbits and hares), rodents, and arthropods throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Humans become infected through contact with infected animal tissues, ingestion of contaminated food or water, inhalation of contaminated aerosols, and bites of arthropods, especially ticks and deer flies.
In North America, tularemia is caused by 2 subspecies of F. tularensis, subsp. tularensis (type A) and subsp. holarctica (type B). The distribution of type A and type B strains appears largely overlapping within the United States, with some ...