Swiss Army Survey in Switzerland to Determine the Prevalence of Francisella tularensis , Members of the Ehrlichia phagocytophila Genogroup, Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato, and Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus in Ticks

Wicki, Roland; Sauter, Pierre; Mettler, C; Natsch, A; Enzler, T; Pusterla, Nicola; Kuhnert, Peter; Egli, G; Bernasconi, Marco Valerio; Lienhard, Reto; Lutz, Hans; Leutenegger, Christian M.

doi:10.1007/s100960000283

Cited by 84 publications

(72 citation statements)

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“…Tularemia occurs only in the northern hemisphere and most frequently in Scandinavia, northern America, Japan, and Russia (15,17,126,166,175). However, tularemia has recently been reported from Turkey, Yugoslavia, Spain, Kosovo, and Switzerland (4,11,143,183), indicating that tularemia is even more widely distributed than was previously thought (Fig. 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Tularemia

et al. 2002

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Francisella tularensis is the etiological agent of tularemia, a serious and occasionally fatal disease of humans and animals. In humans, ulceroglandular tularemia is the most common form of the disease and is usually a consequence of a bite from an arthropod vector which has previously fed on an infected animal. The pneumonic form of the disease occurs rarely but is the likely form of the disease should this bacterium be used as a bioterrorism agent. The diagnosis of disease is not straightforward. F. tularensis is difficult to culture, and the handling of this bacterium poses a significant risk of infection to laboratory personnel. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay- and PCR-based methods have been used to detect bacteria in clinical samples, but these methods have not been adequately evaluated for the diagnosis of pneumonic tularemia. Little is known about the virulence mechanisms of F. tularensis, though there is a large body of evidence indicating that it is an intracellular pathogen, surviving mainly in macrophages. An unlicensed live attenuated vaccine is available, which does appear to offer protection against ulceroglandular and pneumonic tularemia. Although an improved vaccine against tularemia is highly desirable, attempts to devise such a vaccine have been limited by the inability to construct defined allelic replacement mutants and by the lack of information on the mechanisms of virulence of F. tularensis. In the absence of a licensed vaccine, aminoglycoside antibiotics play a key role in the prevention and treatment of tularemia

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Tularemia

et al. 2002

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“…Lysates 20 from the organs and a swab of the subcutaneous suppurative exudate were tested by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for F. tularensis as previously described. 22 The lung, spleen, and subcutaneous pus were positive by this F. tularensisspecific PCR.…”

Section: Research-article2013mentioning

confidence: 90%

Francisella tularensisinfection in a stone marten (Martes foina) without classic pathological lesions consistent with tularemia

Origgi

Pilo

2013

J VET Diagn Invest

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The current report describes the isolation and typing of a strain of Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, from the spleen of a stone marten ( Martes foina) showing no classic lesions consistent with the disease. The identification of this bacterium, belonging to the World Health Organization risk 3 category and considered to have a low infectious dose, could be performed only because of an ongoing project screening F. tularensis in the environment sensu lato. The findings described herein should alert diagnostic laboratories of the possible presence of F. tularensis in clinical samples in countries where tularemia is endemic even in cases with no consistent anamnesis and from unsuspected animal species.

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“…The range of arthropod vectors connected with tularemia has expanded to include ticks [19,40,[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60], mosquitoes [56,61], horse flies [56], fleas [62] and gamasid mites [3]. In Europe, much of the research on the role of arthropod vectors in the transmission of F. tularensis subsp.…”

Section: Tularemia In Vectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The status of tularemia in Europe in a one-health context: a review

et al. 2014

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SUMMARYThe bacterium Francisella tularensis causes the vector-borne zoonotic disease tularemia, and may infect a wide range of hosts including invertebrates, mammals and birds. Transmission to humans occurs through contact with infected animals or contaminated environments, or through arthropod vectors. Tularemia has a broad geographical distribution, and there is evidence which suggests local emergence or re-emergence of this disease in Europe. This review was developed to provide an update on the geographical distribution of F. tularensis in humans, wildlife, domestic animals and vector species, to identify potential public health hazards, and to characterize the epidemiology of tularemia in Europe. Information was collated on cases in humans, domestic animals and wildlife, and on reports of detection of the bacterium in arthropod vectors, from 38 European countries for the period 1992-2012. Multiple international databases on human and animal health were consulted, as well as published reports in the literature. Tularemia is a disease of complex epidemiology that is challenging to understand and therefore to control. Many aspects of this disease remain poorly understood. Better understanding is needed of the epidemiological role of animal hosts, potential vectors, mechanisms of maintenance in the different ecosystems, and routes of transmission of the disease.

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Swiss Army Survey in Switzerland to Determine the Prevalence of Francisella tularensis , Members of the Ehrlichia phagocytophila Genogroup, Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato, and Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus in Ticks

Cited by 84 publications

References 29 publications

Tularemia

Tularemia

Francisella tularensisinfection in a stone marten (Martes foina) without classic pathological lesions consistent with tularemia

The status of tularemia in Europe in a one-health context: a review

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