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. 2015 Dec;21(12):2194-6.
doi: 10.3201/eid2112.142032.

Oropharyngeal Tularemia Outbreak Associated with Drinking Contaminated Tap Water, Turkey, July-September 2013

Dilber Aktas, Bekir Celebi, Mehmet Emirhan Isik, Celal Tutus, Huseyin Ozturk, Fehminaz Temel, Mecit Kizilaslan, Bao-Ping Zhu

Oropharyngeal Tularemia Outbreak Associated with Drinking Contaminated Tap Water, Turkey, July-September 2013

Dilber Aktas et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2015 Dec.

Abstract

In 2013, an oropharyngeal tularemia outbreak in Turkey affected 55 persons. Drinking tap water during the likely exposure period was significantly associated with illness (attack rate 27% vs. 11% among non-tap water drinkers). Findings showed the tap water source had been contaminated by surface water, and the chlorination device malfunctioned.

Keywords: Francisella tularensis subspecies holarctica; Tularemia; Turkey; bacteria; cohort studies; contamination; epizootic disease; exposure period; intracellular coccobacilli; oropharyngeal tularemia; outbreak; source; tap water; transmission; water.

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Figures

Figure
Figure
Epidemic curve indicating a continuous common-source exposure leading to an outbreak of oropharyngeal tularemia, Sancaktepe Village, Turkey, July–September 2013.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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