Tularaemia: a case report and review

Abstract

Tularaemia is a rare infectious disease caused by Francisella tularensis. In Poland, F. tularensis infections are caused by F. tularensis subspecies holarctica (type B). The disease is widespread among multiple animal species. Humans are usually infected via insect bites and less commonly by other routes (contact with animals, inhalation of contaminated aerosol or dust, or oral route). In recent years, the prevalence of tularaemia in Poland was slightly more than dozen cases per year. Depending on the route of infection, the disease has various clinical presentations, of which the most common is the ulceroglandular form. We present a typical case of this clinical form, along with information on epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of this rare disease. Because of a low prevalence and miscellaneous clinical features, the diagnosis is often delayed. Tularaemia should be included in the differential diagnosis of fever with local lymph node enlargement as well as atypical cases of upper airway infections and pneumonia.

Keywords: Poland; tularaemia; zoonosis.