Tularemia – serious zoonotic disease

Tularemia is an acute, infectious zoonotic disease caused by a smal. aerobic, intracellular, gram-negative bacillus Francisella tularensis. Tularemia was firstly described towards the end of nineteenth century in Japan, however, the name Francisella comes from Edward Francis, an American researcher who in 1911 detected this bacterium in squirrels in Tulare County, California. In Poland tularemia in humans was recognized for the first time in 1949. In the years 1949 to 2009, over 600 tularemia cases were recorded in Poland, with one fatality in 1983. Initial work on the use of F. tularensis as a biological weapon was carried out in the 30s of the twentieth century simultaneously in the United States, Soviet Union and Japan. The natural reservoirs of the micro-organism are rodents and lagomorphs, which can be a source of infection for other animals and humans. Human infection occurs through direct contact with sick animal. inhalation of dust contaminated with feces of sick animals and it takes place mainly in the farms involved in the animal production, to a lesser extent as a result of contaminated food and water.