Dorothy FarrarTularemia
Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is an infectious disease found in Scandinavia, Russia, Japan, China, the USA and Canada. In Germany, about two to three cases occur per year.
What is tularemia?
Tularemia (rabbit fever) is an infectious disease that is mainly transmitted by rodents and, depending on the entry point of the pathogen, causes various symptoms on the skin, eyes, throat, lungs and intestines. The disease mainly affects the rural population. The last tularemia outbreak in Europe was in early 2000 in Kosovo. There are four subtypes of the pathogen Francisella tularensis. Epidemiologically, these can be divided into two groups. Francisella tularensis biovar tularensis is very contagious and usually fatal if left untreated. Francesca tularensis biobar holarctica is less contagious, but causes similarly severe diseases.
Causes
Tularemia is caused by the gram-negative pathogen Francisella tularensis. The pathogen is found in various small mammals such as hares, rabbits, mice, squirrels or rats. Fransicella tularensis is also present in the environment, i.e. in water and soil. Animals usually become infected through contact with contaminated water, contaminated soil or parasites such as ticks, fFiegen or mosquitoes.
Humans usually become infected with the disease through skin or mucosal contact with contagious animal material. Possible sources of infection are the consumption of insufficiently heated (rabbit) meat, the drinking of contaminated water or inhalation of infectious dust (for example from straw or hay). The pathogen can also be transmitted by blood-sucking parasites such as ticks, flies or mosquitoes. The incubation period is usually three to five days, but depends on the virulence of the pathogen. The range is from one day to three weeks. The infectious disease cannot be transmitted from person to person.
Symptoms and course
Typical symptoms of tularemia (rabbit fever):
The disease begins with non-specific general symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle pain and weakness. Depending on the type of pathogen and the point of entry, the symptoms of tularemia can be very different. Almost always, however, there is a regional lymph node swelling. In general, two forms can be distinguished, which in turn are divided into different forms.
In the external form, the symptoms show up only on the external body structures. At the point of entry, small ulcers are formed, and inflammation occurs, and later purulent melting of the ulcer. This is also referred to as a cutaneoglandular form. The oculolandular form leads to purulent conjunctivitis with eyelid swelling. The oropharyngeal form is characterized by ulcers in the mouth and throat.
In the internal form, the internal organs such as liver, spleen or intestine are involved. This form is caused either by the spread of the pathogen via the bloodstream or by the inhalation of the pathogen. The pulmonary form manifests itself as pneumonia (pneumonia) with concomitant pleurisy. In the abdominal form, there is intestinal inflammation with diarrhea and abdominal pain.
The typhoid form progresses with flare-ups of fever and the patients suffer from impaired consciousness. Organs are not affected. With timely therapy, the prognosis of tularemia is good. The disease leaves a long-lasting immunity.
Diagnosis
The symptoms of tularemia are rather unclear, so that the diagnosis can rarely be made on the basis of the clinical picture alone. Direct detection of the pathogen is necessary for reliable diagnosis. Due to the high contagiousness, diagnostics are only carried out in special laboratories. The pathogen is detected either from Blood , swabs or Biopsies . A nucleic acid detection or an antigen detection is also possible. Possibly the diagnosis can be confirmed by a high antibody tiger.
treatment and therapy
Treatment of tularemia is with antibiotics . Preference is given to streptomycin, gentamicin, doxycycline and ciproflocaxin. There is resistance to penicillin and sulfonamides. Some strains of Francisella tularensis are also resistant to other antibiotics, so resistance testing of the pathogen before therapy is recommended.
Prevention
An attenuated life vaccine is available for tularemia. Attenuated life vaccines contain live but attenuated pathogens. The vaccine is currently not available in Germany. If exposure is likely, for example after contact in the laboratory, drug prophylaxis should be initiated within 24 hours if possible.
The antibiotics doxycycline and ciprofloxacin are usually given for 14 days. If cases of illness occur in the environment and one’s own possible exposure, fever monitoring should be carried out over three weeks. If fever or a flu-like illness develops during this period, the procedure described above should also be followed.
The tularemia pathogen also belongs to the biological warfare agents. Plans are therefore in place to prevent an outbreak in the event of a bioterrorist attack. Possibly contaminated persons must be decontaminated. In such a case, fine dust masks are also issued.
In order to avoid infection with Francisella tularensis, meat, especially hare and rabbit meat, should only be consumed well cooked through. Especially when skinning and gutting, hunters should make sure that no blood gets on porous or damaged skin or Mucous membranes .
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.