Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted ascending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| treatment of tularemia with levofloxacin. | 2001 | 11318818 | |
| [case reports of tularemia]. | 2001 | 11332241 | |
| [differential diagnosis of tularemia]. | 2001 | 11332245 | |
| tularemia as a biological weapon: medical and public health management. | the working group on civilian biodefense has developed consensus-based recommendations for measures to be taken by medical and public health professionals if tularemia is used as a biological weapon against a civilian population. | 2001 | 11386933 |
| [lung involvement in tularemia]. | we present three cases of pneumonia by francisella tularensis recently diagnosed. we also review this disease with the literature. all the studied patients were adults; two of them had epidemiological antecedents because of being in contact with hares. they present a clinical-radiological symptoms compatible with the pneumonic case described in the literature. the diagnosis was realized through serology in two cases and hemocultive in the other one. all patients had a positive answer to the anti ... | 2001 | 11387843 |
| francisella tularensis induces cytopathogenicity and apoptosis in murine macrophages via a mechanism that requires intracellular bacterial multiplication. | the murine macrophage-like cell line j774.a1 ingests and allows intracellular growth of francisella tularensis. we demonstrate that, after 24 h of infection, a pronounced cytopathogenicity resulted and the j774 cells were undergoing apoptosis. despite this host cell apoptosis, no decrease in bacterial numbers was observed. when internalization of bacteria was prevented or intracellularly located f. tularensis bacteria were eradicated within 12 h, the progression of host cell cytopathogenicity an ... | 2001 | 11402018 |
| rapid laboratory diagnosis of ulceroglandular tularemia with polymerase chain reaction. | tularemia is a zoonotic disease which, in scandinavia, is usually acquired through a mosquito bite. as the infecting organism, francisella tularensis, is highly virulent the culturing of f. tularensis has generally been avoided. pcr offers a safe way to rapidly confirm diagnosis of tularemia. the case of a 9-y-old boy with ulceroglandular tularemia is presented. the diagnosis was made rapidly with dna amplification from a pus specimen. the efficacy of ciprofloxacin treatment of tularemia in chil ... | 2001 | 11440227 |
| [comparative analysis of the immune response of a rabbit to antigens to live and killed francisella species bacteria]. | serum antibodies were analyzed in rabbits immunized with live and formalin-killed francisella (f. tularensis, f. novicida, f. novicida-like, and f. philomiragia). passive hemagglutination test with erythrocytes sensitized by these bacteria' lps showed much higher titers of species-specific antibodies in all sera to live microorganisms than sera to killed bacteria. the results of immunoblotting with purified lps and bacterial lysates indicate that sera to live bacteria contained mainly immunoglob ... | 2001 | 11449797 |
| tularemia epidemic in northwestern spain: clinical description and therapeutic response. | this study describes the clinical characteristics of tularemia in spain's first epidemic outbreak and the therapeutic response and compares the efficacy of 3 antibiotics (streptomycin, ciprofloxacin, and doxycycline). for 142 cases of tularemia, the therapeutic failure rate was 22.5%; ciprofloxacin was the antibiotic with the lowest percentage of therapeutic failures and with the fewest side effects. | 2001 | 11462198 |
| importance of surveillance of tularemia natural foci in the known endemic area of central europe, 1991-1997. | marked activation of natural foci of tularemia in the known endemic area of central europe, comprising the borderland of slovakia, austria and the czech republic, led to an epidemic outbreak in western slovakia and an increase in the number of human tularemia cases in the adjoining regions of northeastern austria and southern moravia from 1995 to 1997. the aim of this paper was to present the results of a longitudinal study on the prevalence of infection with francisella tularensis in small mamm ... | 2001 | 11467089 |
| role of antibody to lipopolysaccharide in protection against low- and high-virulence strains of francisella tularensis. | mice immunised with lipopolysaccharide (lps) from francisella tularensis were protected against challenge with the live vaccine strain (lvs). however, when similarly immunised mice were challenged using the fully virulent f. tularensis strain schu4, only an increase in the time to death was observed. passive transfer of serum from lps-immunised mice to naive mice afforded protection against f. tularensis lvs. lps-immunised mice depleted of either cd4+ or cd8+ t-cells survived a f. tularensis lvs ... | 2001 | 11483272 |
| waterborne outbreak of tularemia associated with crayfish fishing. | in 1997, an outbreak of human tularemia associated with hare-hunting in central spain affected 585 patients. we describe the identification of francisella tularensis biovar palaearctica in a second outbreak of ulceroglandular tularemia associated with crayfish (procambarus clarkii) fishing in a contaminated freshwater stream distant from the hare-associated outbreak. the second outbreak occurred 1 year after the first. | 2001 | 11485678 |
| extensive allelic variation among francisella tularensis strains in a short-sequence tandem repeat region. | members of the genus francisella and the species f. tularensis appear to be genetically very similar despite pronounced differences in virulence and geographic localization, and currently used typing methods do not allow discrimination of individual strains. here we show that a number of short-sequence tandem repeat (sstr) loci are present in f. tularensis genomes and that two of these loci, sstr9 and sstr16, are together highly discriminatory. labeled pcr amplification products from the loci we ... | 2001 | 11526142 |
| francisella tularensis strain typing using multiple-locus, variable-number tandem repeat analysis. | francisella tularensis, the etiological agent of tularemia, is found throughout the northern hemisphere. after analyzing the f. tularensis genomic sequence for potential variable-number tandem repeats (vntrs), we developed a multilocus vntr analysis (mlva) typing system for this pathogen. variation was detected at six vntr loci in a set of 56 isolates from california, oklahoma, arizona, and oregon and the f. tularensis live vaccine strain. pcr assays revealed diversity at these loci with total a ... | 2001 | 11526148 |
| tularemia could be bioweapons threat. | 2001 | 11544853 | |
| preliminary analysis and annotation of the partial genome sequence of francisella tularensis strain schu 4. | 2001 | 11576297 | |
| nucleotide sequence, structural organization, and functional characterization of the small recombinant plasmid pom1 that is specific for francisella tularensis. | pom1 is a recombinant 4442-bp plasmid that includes the replicon of the francisella novicida-like strain f6168 cryptic plasmid pfnl10 and the tetracycline resistance gene (tetc) of plasmid pbr328. pom1 can stably replicate and is maintained in francisella tularensis biovars tularensis, palaearctica, and palaearctica var. japonica. the replicon of pom1 includes the ori region and the repa gene. the ori region, located upstream of the repa gene includes two sets of 31- and 13-bp direct repeats (dr ... | 2001 | 11591134 |
| [tularemia outbreak in the province of cuenca associated with crab handling]. | to report the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of 19 patients diagnosed of tularemia at our hospital following an epidemic outbreak occurred in our health area. | 2001 | 11594130 |
| construction of a francisella tularensis two-dimensional electrophoresis protein database. | we have started the construction of a two-dimensional database of the proteome of francisella tularensis, a bacterium that is responsible for the highly pathogenic disease tularemia. the genome of this intracellular pathogen is not completely sequenced yet and, currently, information about only 66 proteins is available from ncbi database. we have analyzed the f. tularensis live vaccine strain by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis with immobilized ph 3-10 gradient in the first dimension and 9-16 ... | 2001 | 11681204 |
| risk of lyme disease: perceptions of residents of a lone star tick-infested community. | lone star ticks (amblyomma americanum) have been suggested as a vector of the agent of lyme disease (borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato) in the usa, based on associations with an infection manifesting mainly as erythema migrans. in laboratory experiments, however, they failed to transmit b. burgdorferi sensu stricto. | 2001 | 11693973 |
| construction of a reporter plasmid for screening in vivo promoter activity in francisella tularensis. | francisella tularensis is a facultative intracellular bacterium that survives and multiplies inside macrophages. here we constructed a new promoter probe plasmid denoted pkk214 by introduction of a promoter-less chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (cat) gene into the shuttle vector pkk202. a promoter library was created in f. tularensis strain lvs by cloning random chromosomal dna fragments into pkk214. approximately 15% of the recombinant bacteria showed chloramphenicol resistance in vitro. the p ... | 2001 | 11728719 |
| genetic organization of the francisella plasmid pfnl10. | we report here the molecular characterization of pfnl10, a 3990-bp cryptic plasmid of francisella novicida-like f6168. the plasmid was maintained in f. novicida utah 112 and f. tularensis lvs strains. we sequenced the entire plasmid and found six open reading frames (orfs)-orf1, orf2, orf3, orf4, orf5, and orfm. orf3, orf4, orf5, and orfm are located on the same strand, and we designated it the plus strand. orf1 and orf2 are on the complementary strand. the orfs appear to be arranged in two oper ... | 2001 | 11735370 |
| clinical microbiological case: sore throat and painful bilateral cervical lymph nodes. | 2001 | 11737089 | |
| susceptibility to secondary francisella tularensis live vaccine strain infection in b-cell-deficient mice is associated with neutrophilia but not with defects in specific t-cell-mediated immunity. | previous studies have demonstrated a role for b cells, not associated with antibody production, in protection against lethal secondary infection of mice with francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (lvs). however, the mechanism by which b cells contribute to this protection is not known. to study the specific role of b cells during secondary lvs infection, we developed an in vitro culture system that mimics many of the same characteristics of in vivo infection. using this culture system, we s ... | 2001 | 11119506 |
| identification of the acid phosphatase (acpa) gene homologues in pathogenic and non-pathogenic burkholderia spp. facilitates tnphoa mutagenesis. | burkholderia pseudomallei and burkholderia mallei are pathogens responsible for disease in both humans and animals. burkholderia thailandensis, while phylogenetically similar, is considered avirulent in comparison. these three species exhibit phosphatase activity when grown on media containing chromogenic substrates such as 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate (xp). tn5-ot182 mutagenesis has been utilized to isolate mutants of b. pseudomallei and b. thailandensis unable to hydrolyse xp. sequence ... | 2001 | 11160805 |
| tularemia outbreak investigation in kosovo: case control and environmental studies. | a large outbreak of tularemia occurred in kosovo in the early postwar period, 1999-2000. epidemiologic and environmental investigations were conducted to identify sources of infection, modes of transmission, and household risk factors. case and control status was verified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blot, and microagglutination assay. a total of 327 serologically confirmed cases of tularemia pharyngitis and cervical lymphadenitis were identified in 21 of 29 kosovo municipalitie ... | 2002 | 11749751 |
| mapping of immunoreactive antigens of francisella tularensis live vaccine strain. | francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica is the common causal agent of tularemia in europe. besides clinical signs, the diagnosis of the disease mostly depends on serological tests. to date, there is a lack of information about the f. tularensis antigens that induce antibody response. therefore, we have started comprehensive mapping of immunoreactive antigens using the attenuated live vaccine strain of f. tularensis lvs originating from the european virulent strain. for this purpose, the immunor ... | 2002 | 12124931 |
| the cxc chemokine murine monokine induced by ifn-gamma (cxc chemokine ligand 9) is made by apcs, targets lymphocytes including activated b cells, and supports antibody responses to a bacterial pathogen in vivo. | monokine induced by ifn-gamma (mig; cxc chemokine ligand 9) is an ifn-gamma-inducible cxc chemokine that signals through the receptor cxcr3 and is known to function as a chemotactic factor for human t cells, particularly following t cell activation. the mig gene can be induced in multiple cell types and organs, and mig has been shown to contribute to t cell infiltration into immune/inflammatory reactions in peripheral tissues in mice. we have investigated the expression and activities of mig and ... | 2002 | 12133969 |
| genotyping of francisella tularensis strains by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, amplified fragment length polymorphism fingerprinting, and 16s rrna gene sequencing. | we evaluated three molecular methods for identification of francisella strains: pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (pfge), amplified fragment length polymorphism (aflp) analysis, and 16s rrna gene sequencing. the analysis was performed with 54 francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica, 5 f. tularensis subsp. tularensis, 2 f. tularensis subsp. novicida, and 1 f. philomiragia strains. on the basis of the combination of results obtained by pfge with the restriction enzymes xhoi and bamhi, pfge reveale ... | 2002 | 12149360 |
| [an epidemic of tularemia in the nish area]. | tularaemia, as a rare disease, surprised medical workers in 1999 and 2000 when it was detected and diagnosed in 31 patients. in 1999 patients were registered in villages of the sokobanja community, and in 2000 also in other communities in the district of nish. patients were peasants, mostly housewives. glandular form of the disease was dominant. the main clinical symptoms were: tonsillitis, pain in the region of enlarged lymphatic glands and temperature, biohumoral syndrome presented accelerated ... | 2002 | 12154521 |
| [tularemia as a biological weapon]. | tularemia is a zoonosis, caused by the gram-negative bacterium, francisella tularensis. the organism penetrates the human body through interrupted skin or mucous membranes, via animal contact or bites from ticks, deer-flies and mosquitoes. contaminated aerosol and water are alternative modes of transmitting the germ through the respiratory and alimentary tracks. in light of its high infectivity in aerosol and its offensive occupation in the past, tularemia may appear in a biological warfare cont ... | 2002 | 12170560 |
| the 2000 tularemia outbreak: a case-control study of risk factors in disease-endemic and emergent areas, sweden. | a widespread outbreak of tularemia in sweden in 2000 was investigated in a case-control study in which 270 reported cases of tularemia were compared with 438 controls. the outbreak affected parts of sweden where tularemia had hitherto been rare, and these "emergent" areas were compared with the disease-endemic areas. multivariate regression analysis showed mosquito bites to be the main risk factor, with an odds ratio (or) of 8.8. other risk factors were owning a cat (or 2.5) and farm work (or 3. ... | 2002 | 12194773 |
| a procedure for differentiating between the intentional release of biological warfare agents and natural outbreaks of disease: its use in analyzing the tularemia outbreak in kosovo in 1999 and 2000. | the events of 11 september and the subsequent anthrax outbreaks in the usa have opened the world's eyes to the threat posed by terrorist groups, criminal organizations and lone operators who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. the open or covert use of pathogens and toxins as biological warfare agents can no longer be ruled out. against this background, the appearance of an unusual disease must be studied in order to clarify whether it is a natural or artificially caused occurrence. thi ... | 2002 | 12197873 |
| problems associated with potential massive use of antimicrobial agents as prophylaxis or therapy of a bioterrorist attack. | in addition to the direct sanitary damage of a terrorist attack caused by biological weapons, the consequences of the massive stockpiling and consumption of antimicrobial agents in order to treat or prevent the disease under a potential epidemic due to pathogenic bacteria must also be considered. bacillus anthracis, francisella tularensis and yersinia pestis are the bacteria most likely to be used as terrorist weapons. tetracyclines, quinolones and aminoglycoside are the antibiotics of choice ag ... | 2002 | 12197876 |
| [germs employed as biological weapons]. | 2002 | 12215940 | |
| mice vaccinated with the o-antigen of francisella tularensis lvs lipopolysaccharide conjugated to bovine serum albumin develop varying degrees of protective immunity against systemic or aerosol challenge with virulent type a and type b strains of the pathogen. | the purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a vaccine consisting of the o-polysaccharide of the lipopolysaccharide (lps) of francisella tularensis chemically conjugated to bovine serum albumin. the results show that conjugation preserved both the antigenicity and immunogenicity of the polysaccharide moiety. mice vaccinated with the glyco-conjugate, but not with bsa alone, were completely protected against an intradermal challenge with a highly virulent type b strain of f. tularensi ... | 2002 | 12297391 |
| tularemia. | 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 straightforwa ... | 2002 | 12364373 |
| [tularemia as a potential weapon of bioterrorists]. | this paper addresses the issue of using airborne tularemia as a potential biological weapon of terrorists. because of its extreme infectivity, easy dissemination and substantial pathogenic ability, it may become a dangerous biological agent. an outbreak of acute febrile illness with pneumonia, pleuritis and hilar lymphadenitis in urban healthy populations, regardless of age and gender, should suggest an action of terrorism. the presumptive diagnosis should be based on epidemiological and clinica ... | 2002 | 12369513 |
| the identification of five genetic loci of francisella novicida associated with intracellular growth. | five transposon mutants of francisella novicida were isolated that are compromised in their ability to grow in mouse macrophages in vitro. sequence analysis of the dna flanking the transposon insertions identified the genes that were interrupted in these mutants. one of the inactivated loci corresponds to the francisella tularensis gene that encodes a 23-kda protein that is the most prominently induced protein following macrophage infection. another insertion was localised to approximately 2 kb ... | 2002 | 12393200 |
| a novel class of microbial phosphocholine-specific phospholipases c. | in this report we describe the 1,500-fold purification and characterization of the haemolytic phospholipase c (plc) of pseudomonas aeruginosa, the paradigm member of a novel plc/phosphatase superfamily. members include proteins from mycobacterium tuberculosis, bordetella spp., francisella tularensis and burkholderia pseudomallei. purification involved overexpression of the plchr1,2 operon, ion exchange chromatography and native preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. matrix-assisted lase ... | 2002 | 12410824 |
| two cases of tularaemia after an orienteering contest on the non-endemic island of bornholm. | 2002 | 11874174 | |
| [a water-borne epidemic of tularemia in chlumcany]. | during an epidemic of tularaemia in chlumcany in december 2000 48 people, 36 adults, 12 children fell ill. in the patients the oroglandular form predominated which was diagnosed 46 times. none of the patients died. the vehicle of the infection was inadequately treated water which was used by the patients for the preparation of soda water and for washing. using the polymerase chain reaction francisellae were detected in two water samples. | 2002 | 11881296 |
| in vivo clearance of an intracellular bacterium, francisella tularensis lvs, is dependent on the p40 subunit of interleukin-12 (il-12) but not on il-12 p70. | to determine the role of interleukin-12 (il-12) in primary and secondary immunity to a model intracellular bacterium, we have comprehensively evaluated infection with francisella tularensis lvs in three murine models of il-12 deficiency. mice lacking the p40 protein of il-12 (p40 knockout [ko] mice) and mice treated in vivo with neutralizing anti-il-12 antibodies survived large doses of primary and secondary lvs infection but never cleared bacteria and exhibited a chronic infection. in dramatic ... | 2002 | 11895957 |
| tularemia--united states, 1990-2000. | tularemia is a zoonotic disease caused by the gram-negative coccobacillus francisella tularensis. known also as "rabbit fever" and "deer fly fever," tularemia was first described in the united states in 1911 and has been reported from all states except hawaii. tularemia was removed from the list of nationally notifiable diseases in 1994, but increased concern about potential use of f. tularensis as a biological weapon led to its reinstatement in 2000. this report summarizes tularemia cases repor ... | 2002 | 11900351 |
| an outbreak of primary pneumonic tularemia. | 2002 | 11919317 | |
| immunohistochemical demonstration of francisella tularensis in lesions of cats with tularemia. | an immunohistochemical test was developed and validated for detection of francisella tularensis antigen in tissues of cats with fatal tularemia. ten cases of naturally occurring tularemia in cats were positive both by isolation of f. tularensis and immunohistochemical identification of f. tularensis antigen. nine additional cases with lesions typical of tularemia were positive for f. tularensis antigen, although bacterial cultures were not performed. immunohistochemical identification of f. tula ... | 2002 | 11939340 |
| tularemia and q fever. | the zoonotic infections caused by francisella tularensis and coxiella burnetii, tularemia and q fever, respectively, are two less commonly encountered clinical illnesses that are becoming increasingly recognized as epidemiologically important human diseases. the prevalence of tularemia and q fever can be positively impacted by increased awareness of the clinical entities that arise from infection by these arthropod-borne organisms. improved recognition of these clinical syndromes will lead to gr ... | 2002 | 11982309 |
| tularemia of the middle ear. | we report the case of a 10-year-old boy with prolonged fever who was found to have tularemia of the middle ear. otolaryngologic cases including oropharyngeal and glandular or ulceroglandular forms of the head and neck region are estimated to account for 12% of all tularemia cases, but to date we have not seen a report of tularemia in the middle ear. the possibility of tularemia may not occur to a physician because of the wide variation of clinical manifestations. | 2002 | 12005098 |
| rapid and sensitive detection of biological warfare agents using time-resolved fluorescence assays. | we have achieved sensitive, rapid and reproducible detection of three biological threat agents in a variety of biological and environmental matrices using the delfia time-resolved fluorometry (trf) assay system (perkin-elmer life sciences, akron, oh). existing elisa assays for the detection of francisella tularensis, clostridium botulinum a/b neurotoxin (botnt a/b), and staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin b (seb) were converted to trf assays. they use 100 microl of positive control or unknown per ... | 2002 | 12009202 |
| exposure of laboratory workers to francisella tularensis despite a bioterrorism procedure. | a rapidly fatal case of pulmonary tularemia in a 43-year-old man who was transferred to a tertiary care facility is presented. the microbiology laboratory and autopsy services were not notified of the clinical suspicion of tularemia by the service caring for the patient. despite having a laboratory bioterrorism procedure in place and adhering to established laboratory protocol, 12 microbiology laboratory employees were exposed to francisella tularensis and the identification of the organism was ... | 2002 | 12037110 |
| [viability and virulence of francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica in water ecosystems (experimental study)]. | under conditions of artificial water biocenosis a virulent strain of f. tularensis could be detected in fresh water shrimps and mollusks for about a month, in conepoda for up to 20 days and in chydorus sphaericus for up to 7 days from the moment of the aquaria water contamination. in silt f. tularensis could be detected for a longer period (up to 2 months). daphnia, oligochaeta and c. sphaericus appeared to be unfavorable environment for this microorganism. the virulence level of f. tularensis m ... | 2002 | 12043166 |
| inhibition of carcinogenic and clastogenic effects of n-nitrosomorpholine in rats immunized with tularemia vaccine. | the aim of the present work was to study whether immunization of rats with tularemia live vaccine (tlv) can influence carcinogenic and mutagenic action of n-nitrosomorpholine (nnm). the experiments were performed with male albino random-bred rats. the first group of rats was immunized with tlv 15 days before the start of experiment. these animals and the second group (positive control) were treated with nnm orally, (total dose was about 250 mg/rat). rats including solvent (negative) control grou ... | 2002 | 12044064 |
| [tularemia--history, epidemiology, clinical aspects, diagnosis and therapy]. | tularemia was first described 90 years ago by mccoy as a disease of animals. at the beginning of twenties it was recognised by e. francis as a disease transmittable from animals to man. tularemia is caused by a gram-negative microbe francisella tularensis. epidemiological and clinical manifestations of the disease are highly diverse. the characteristic sign is the primary complex consisting from an initial ulceration and a regional lymphadenitis. in the czech republic tularemia was first identif ... | 2002 | 12061195 |
| in vitro susceptibility to quinolones of francisella tularensis subspecies tularensis. | francisella tularensis is a potent pathogen and a possible bioterrorism agent, for which quinolones offer promising new therapeutic options. there are, however, no data on the susceptibility to quinolones of natural isolates of f. tularensis tularensis, the highly virulent north american subspecies. in the present study, 8 isolates of f. tularensis tularensis, originating from 8 different states of the usa, and 16 us isolates of f. tularensis holarctica were tested. all 24 isolates showed mic va ... | 2002 | 12069013 |
| proteome study of francisella tularensis live vaccine strain-containing phagosome in bcg/nramp1 congenic macrophages: resistant allele contributes to permissive environment and susceptibility to infection. | the phagocytosis of pathogens by macrophages classically initiates maturation of the phagosome that involves a dynamic exchange of phagosomal components with intracellular compartments of the endocytic pathway. the intracellular microorganisms have developed sophisticated mechanisms to sense environmental conditions and respond to them by phenotypic alterations that ensure their adaptation, survival and proliferation inside the cell. they have learned also to utilise host cellular components to ... | 2002 | 11788995 |
| different host defences are required to protect mice from primary systemic vs pulmonary infection with the facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen, francisella tularensis lvs. | francisella tularensis is a zoonotic, facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen capable of initiating infection, tularemia, via multiple routes including dermal micro-abrasions and inhalation. mouse models of systemically-initiated infection with f. tularensis lvs have been used extensively to reveal potential host defence mechanisms against the pathogen. such studies have demonstrated the critical need for neutrophils and interferon-gamma (ifn-gamma) to combat the early stages of primary exp ... | 2002 | 11855943 |
| the microbiology laboratory's role in response to bioterrorism. | bioterrorism has existed since before the 14th century; however, the specter of such an attack is much greater today than ever before. technical expertise in microbiology and molecular testing, combined with the rapidity of worldwide air travel, has ensured that no geographic area would be untouched in a widespread attack. clinical microbiology laboratories will play a pivotal role in the detection of attacks involving weapons of mass destruction. | 2002 | 11860302 |
| serologic survey for viral and bacterial infections in western populations of canada lynx (lynx canadensis). | a serologic survey for exposure to pathogens in canada lynx (lynx canadensis) in western north america was conducted. samples from 215 lynx from six study areas were tested for antibodies to feline parvovirus (fpv), feline coronavirus, canine distemper virus, feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus, yersinia pestis, and francisella tularensis. a subset of samples was tested for feline immunodeficiency virus; all were negative. for all other pathogens, evidence for exposure was found in at least o ... | 2002 | 12528455 |
| prevalence of coinfection with francisella tularensis in reservoir animals of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. | studies on lyme borreliosis and other tick-borne zoonoses in the austrian and slovakian borderland, a region endemic for tularemia, revealed a relatively high prevalence of infection with borrelia burgdorferi s.l. and francisella tularensis in small terrestrial mammals, as well as in the ticks, during a one-year survey. the occurrence of coinfection with the agents of lyme borreliosis and tularemia was assessed in different species of rodents. | 2002 | 12422587 |
| the genus caedibacter comprises endosymbionts of paramecium spp. related to the rickettsiales (alphaproteobacteria) and to francisella tularensis (gammaproteobacteria). | obligate bacterial endosymbionts of paramecia able to form refractile inclusion bodies (r bodies), thereby conferring a killer trait upon their ciliate hosts, have traditionally been grouped into the genus caedibacter: of the six species described to date, only the paramecium caudatum symbiont caedibacter caryophilus has been phylogenetically characterized by its 16s rrna gene sequence, and it was found to be a member of the alphaproteobacteria related to the rickettsiales: in this study, the ca ... | 2002 | 12450827 |
| structural analysis of francisella tularensis lipopolysaccharide. | the structure of the lipid a and core region of the lipopolysaccharide (lps) from francisella tularensis (atcc 29684) was analysed using nmr, mass spectrometry and chemical methods. the lps contains a beta-glcn-(1-6)-glcn lipid a backbone, but has a number of unusual structural features; it apparently has no substituent at o-1 of the reducing end glcn residue in the lipid part in the major part of the population, no substituents at o-3 and o-4 of beta-glcn, and no substituent at o-4 of the kdo r ... | 2002 | 12473106 |
| nine-analyte detection using an array-based biosensor. | a fluorescence-based multianalyte immunosensor has been developed for simultaneous analysis of multiple samples. while the standard 6 x 6 format of the array sensor has been used to analyze six samples for six different analytes, this same format has the potential to allow a single sample to be tested for 36 different agents. the method described herein demonstrates proof of principle that the number of analytes detectable using a single array can be increased simply by using complementary mixtu ... | 2002 | 12498211 |
| bioterrorism. clinical recognition and primary management. | the recent anthrax attacks in the united states have demonstrated the reality of bioterrorist threats as well as the need for preparedness and planning to mount a successful response to such events. medical practitioners have a key role in responding to bioterrorist activity because they can contribute to the timely recognition of an event and to the mitigation of morbidity resulting from a bioterrorist attack. the medical community needs to become familiar with how to recognize and manage disea ... | 2002 | 14569808 |
| a european pathogenic microorganism proteome database: construction and maintenance. | a relational database structure based on ms-access and mysql to store and manage proteomics data was established. this system may be used to publish two-dimensional electrophoretic proteomics data, and also may be accessed by external users who want to compare their own data with those in the databases. the maintenance of the database is managed centrally. the producers of proteomics data do not need to construct a database themselves. users can introduce mass spectra into the database, which al ... | 2002 | 18628887 |
| repeatability and pattern recognition of bacterial fatty acid profiles generated by direct mass spectrometric analysis of in situ thermal hydrolysis/methylation of whole cells. | direct ci mass spectrometry profiling of fatty acid methyl esters (fames) from in situ thermal hydrolysis/methylation (thm) of whole bacterial cells with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (tmah) has been demonstrated as a potential method for real time and fieldable detection/identification of microorganisms. bacillus anthracis (ames), yersinia pestis (nair. kenya), vibrio cholerae (e1 tor), brucella melitensis (abortus wild) and francisella tularensis (lvs vaccine) were profiled by this method duri ... | 2003 | 18968943 |
| mechanisms of pathogenesis: evasion of killing by polymorphonuclear leukocytes. | few microorganisms evade killing by neutrophils. summarized here are the mechanisms used by yersinia, group a streptococci, helicobacter, ehrlichia and francisella to block phagocytosis, disrupt phagosome maturation or perturb the respiratory burst. also discussed are mechanisms used by neutrophils to control organisms that replicate inside macrophages. | 2003 | 14613776 |
| ecological conditions of natural foci of tularaemia in the czech republic. | tularaemia, a zoonosis of veterinary and public health importance, commonly occurs in the czech republic as well as other countries of northern hemisphere. the objective of this study was to analyse the environmental conditions of distribution of natural foci of tularaemia and their long-term persistence in the czech republic. a geographic information system has been used for this purpose. a new variable (chi(t)), the mean number of natural foci in a specific area, has been suggested for the eva ... | 2003 | 14620945 |
| bacterial biofilms of importance to medicine and bioterrorism: proteomic techniques to identify novel vaccine components and drug targets. | biofilms are highly ordered microbial communities enmeshed in a carefully sculpted matrix designed for survival of organisms either in multi- or mono-genus/species in a specific microniche. in human disease, biofilm infections are some of the most recalcitrant to treat. even with rigorous antibiotic regimens, some biofilms, such as those within the thick airway mucus of cystic fibrosis (cf) patients, persist throughout the course of the disease process. in this editorial, discussion will cover t ... | 2003 | 14640945 |
| glandular tularemia in a native american child. | this case report details the clinical manifestation and course of glandular tularemia, an uncommon but significant cause of cervical lymphadenopathy in children. we discuss the unique attributes of this disease along with appropriate steps that lead to early identification of the organism and effective treatment. the potential use of the organism as a bioterrorism agent is another interesting aspect of this entity. | 2003 | 14661434 |
| development of a multitarget real-time taqman pcr assay for enhanced detection of francisella tularensis in complex specimens. | tularemia is the zoonotic disease caused by the gram-negative coccobacillus francisella tularensis. its wide distribution in the environment poses a challenge for understanding the transmission, ecology, and epidemiology of the disease. f. tularensis is also considered a potential biological weapon due to its extreme infectivity. we have developed a multitarget real-time taqman pcr assay capable of rapidly and accurately detecting f. tularensis in complex specimens. targeted regions included the ... | 2003 | 14662930 |
| allelic exchange in francisella tularensis using pcr products. | we describe here a technique for allelic exchange in francisella tularensis subsp. novicida utilizing polymerase chain reaction (pcr) products. linear pcr fragments containing gene deletions with an erythromycin resistance cassette insertion were transformed into f. tularensis. the subsequent ermr progeny were found to have undergone allelic exchange at the correct location in the genome; the minimum flanking homology necessary was 500 bp. this technique was used to create mgla, iglc, bla, and t ... | 2003 | 14680699 |
| causes of febrile illnesses after a tick bite in slovenian children. | to establish the etiology in slovenian children with febrile illnesses occurring after a tick bite. | 2003 | 14688569 |
| francisella: a little bug hits the big time. | 2003 | 14711357 | |
| [gene typing of infectious tularemia strains isolated from the stavropol and krasnodar territories]. | the typing of f. tularensis strains by four variable number of tandem repeats (vntr) loci has been carried out. among the strains isolated in the stavropol and krasnodar territories seven genotypes have been detected and their spread in different natural foci has been analyzed. the data thus obtained suggest that the vntr analysis may become an important instrument for studying the structure of the natural foci of tularemia and evolutionary relationships between individual areas of these foci. | 2003 | 14716980 |
| epizootiologic and ecologic investigations of european brown hares (lepus europaeus) in selected populations from schleswig-holstein, germany. | from 1997-99 european brown hare (lepus europaeus) population densities were estimated by spotlight surveys within different areas in schleswig-holstein, germany. these areas showed a wide variation in local hare population densities. in addition, red fox (vulpes vulpes) densities were estimated in 1997 by surveys of fox dens and litters. sera of 321 hares (shot between 1998-2000) from four study areas were examined for antibodies against european brown hare syndrome virus (ebhsv) by enzyme link ... | 2003 | 14733269 |
| an attenuated strain of the facultative intracellular bacterium francisella tularensis can escape the phagosome of monocytic cells. | the facultative intracellular bacterium francisella tularensis is a highly virulent and contagious organism, and little is known about its intracellular survival mechanisms. we studied the intracellular localization of the attenuated human vaccine strain, f. tularensis lvs, in adherent mouse peritoneal cells, in mouse macrophage-like cell line j774a.1, and in human macrophage cell line thp-1. confocal microscopy of infected j774a.1 cells indicated that during the first hour of infection the bact ... | 2003 | 14500514 |
| tularemia. | tularemia is a complex clinical disorder caused by the ubiquitous intracellular parasite francisella tularensis, which has many mammalian and insect hosts. the peak observed incidence of tularemia occurred in 1939, and most present-day clinicians have never seen a case of this disease. tularemia manifests several different clinical syndromes, depending on the portal of entry. f. tularensis has been used in biological warfare experimentation and it has been weaponized and stockpiled in the past b ... | 2003 | 14505277 |
| molecular diagnostic techniques for use in response to bioterrorism. | the use of micro-organisms as agents of biological warfare is considered inevitable for several reasons, including ease of production and dispersion, delayed onset of symptoms, ability to cause high rates of morbidity and mortality and difficulty in diagnosis. therefore, the clinical presentation and pathogenesis of the organisms posing the highest threat (variola major, bacillus anthracis, yersinia pestis, clostridium botulinum toxin, francisella tularensis, filoviruses, arenaviruses and brucel ... | 2003 | 14510181 |
| myositis and septicaemia caused by francisella tularensis biovar holarctica. | a case of tularaemia presenting with severe septicaemia and myositis is reported. the infection was presumed to be acquired by a bite from the horse fly haematopota pluvialis, also known as the rain fly. | 2003 | 14514156 |
| infectious diseases. an obscure weapon of the cold war edges into the limelight. | 2003 | 14551418 | |
| prevention and treatment of bacterial diseases caused by bacterial bioterrorism threat agents. | there is general consensus that the bacterial agents or products most likely to be used as weapons of mass destruction are bacillus anthracis, yersinia pestis, francisella tularensis and the neurotoxin of clostridium botulinum. modern supportive and antimicrobial therapy for inhalational anthrax is associated with a 45% mortality rate, reinforcing the need for better adjunctive therapy and prevention strategies. pneumonic plague is highly contagious, difficult to recognize and is frequently fata ... | 2003 | 14554016 |
| [comparative study of ixodes ticks on their infection with tularemia pathogen using biologic and serological assays]. | the paper presents the results of a long-term comparative study of the infection of ixodes tick imagoes with the pathogen of tularemia by using the biological assay and antibody neutralization test. the infection rates determined by both methods were found to be identical or close. if there was a difference in the rates in some years, it was not statistically significant. a statistically significant difference could not be found in the infection rates for ticks and in the dependence on their spe ... | 2003 | 14564840 |
| liposome delivery of ciprofloxacin against intracellular francisella tularensis infection. | the effect of liposome delivery on the controlled release and therapeutic efficacy of ciprofloxacin against intracellular francisella tularensis infection in vivo was evaluated in this study. ciprofloxacin was encapsulated in small unilamellar vesicles by a remote loading procedure using an ammonium sulfate gradient. this procedure produced uniform sized liposomes (100 nm) with an entrapment rate of 90+/-3.5%. following administration of unencapsulated or liposome-encapsulated ciprofloxacin by i ... | 2003 | 14568408 |
| clinical and epidemiological characteristic of tularemia in kazakhstan. | from 1950 to 1977, 5049 human tularemia cases were registered that had been associated with a large number of non-immunized people coming to kazakh tularemia endemic areas from different places of soviet union to harvest the grain. since 1978, the number of tularemia patients has considerably decreased and during 1992-2001 thirty-one human cases were reported. epidemiological analysis showed that infection was transmitted by a variety of routes, including bites of infected arthropod, ingestion o ... | 2003 | 15029832 |
| [sero-epidemiological studies of zoonotic infections in hunters--comparative analysis with veterinarians, farmers, and abattoir workers]. | the aim of this study was to investigate seroprevalences to zoonotic pathogens in hunters, to compare the results with other predisposed occupational groups already investigated and to propose preventive measures. blood samples were taken from 146 male and 3 female hunters from the provinces of styria and burgenland in the south-east of austria and anamnestic data were obtained using a questionnaire. the serological investigations included the following bacterial, viral and parasitic zoonotic ag ... | 2003 | 15508783 |
| survival and growth of francisella tularensis in acanthamoeba castellanii. | francisella tularensis is a highly infectious, facultative intracellular bacterium which causes epidemics of tularemia in both humans and mammals at regular intervals. the natural reservoir of the bacterium is largely unknown, although it has been speculated that protozoa may harbor it. to test this hypothesis, acanthamoeba castellanii was cocultured with a strain of f. tularensis engineered to produce green fluorescent protein (gfp) in a nutrient-rich medium. gfp fluorescence within a. castella ... | 2003 | 12514047 |
| discrimination of human pathogenic subspecies of francisella tularensis by using restriction fragment length polymorphism. | we describe the use of two insertion sequence elements (isftu1 and isftu2) in francisella tularensis to type strains by restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp). the rflp profiles of 17 epidemiologically unrelated isolates were determined and compared. our results showed that rflp profiles can be used to assign f. tularensis strains into five main groups corresponding to strains of f. tularensis subsp. tularensis, f. tularensis strain atcc 6223, strains of f. tularensis subsp. holarctica, ... | 2003 | 12517824 |
| francisella tularensis inhibits toll-like receptor-mediated activation of intracellular signalling and secretion of tnf-alpha and il-1 from murine macrophages. | microbial ligands, including lipopolysaccharide (lps) and bacterial lipoproteins, activate toll-like receptors (tlr) of mononuclear phagocytes, thereby inducing proinflammatory cytokines and antimicrobial activity. we show that francisella tularensis, an intracellular pathogen, is capable of inhibiting this macrophage response. infection with the live vaccine strain f. tularensis lvs rendered cells of the murine macrophage-like cell line j774a.1 incapable of secreting tnf-alpha or il-1beta and m ... | 2003 | 12542469 |
| detection of francisella tularensis within infected mouse tissues by using a hand-held pcr thermocycler. | the diagnosis of human cases of tularemia often relies upon the demonstration of an antibody response to francisella tularensis or the direct culturing of the bacteria from the patient. antibody response is not detectable until 2 weeks or more after infection, and culturing requires special media and suspicion of tularemia. in addition, handling live francisella poses a risk to laboratory personnel due to the highly infectious nature of this pathogen. in an effort to develop a rapid diagnostic a ... | 2003 | 12574268 |
| fatal infection caused by francisella tularensisin a neutropenic bone marrow transplant recipient. | francisella tularensis is one of the most infectious pathogenic bacteria known. even though immunity against this organism is thought to be primarily t cell mediated, some evidence suggests that neutrophils may also play an important protective role. we report a case of tularemia in a neutropenic bone marrow transplant recipient that sheds light on the importance of neutrophils in protection against this infection and review clinical aspects of this fascinating infection emphasizing areas of int ... | 2003 | 12574964 |
| [tularemia ("rabbit plague")]. | 2003 | 12596770 | |
| [prevalence of antibodies against francisella tularensis in castilla y león (spain) before 1997]. | the aim of this paper was determine the prevalence of antibodies against francisella tularensis in the representative sample of people from castilla-león (spain) before epidemic outbreak of end 1997. | 2003 | 12605730 |
| tularaemia. | tularaemia is a zoonotic bacterial disease of the northern hemisphere. the causative agent, francisella tularensis, is spread to humans by direct contact with infected rodents or lagomorphs, aerogenic exposure, ingestion of contaminated food or water, or by arthropod bites. the prevalence of tularaemia shows a wide geographic variation. in some endemic regions, outbreaks occur frequently, whereas nearby rural parts of a country may be completely free. f. tularensis is a facultative intracellular ... | 2003 | 12608453 |
| virulence determinants and protective antigens of francisella tularensis. | very little is known about virulence mechanisms of the highly virulent bacterium francisella tularensis. specific genetic features of f. tularensis have been obstacles for the development of effective tools for genetic manipulation. however, recent genomic sequencing and large-scale proteomic work have resulted in a substantial increase in the knowledge of f. tularensis. there is also a paucity of information on potential vaccine candidates. recent work assessing the protective efficacy of the f ... | 2003 | 12615222 |
| mice intradermally-inoculated with the intact lipopolysaccharide, but not the lipid a or o-chain, from francisella tularensis lvs rapidly acquire varying degrees of enhanced resistance against systemic or aerogenic challenge with virulent strains of the pathogen. | the present study examines the relationship between the structure and important biological effects of the lipopolysaccharide (lps) of the intracellular bacterial pathogen, francisella tularensis lvs. it shows that treating mice with sub-immunogenic amounts of intact f. tularensis lps rapidly induces an enhanced resistance to intradermal or aerogenic challenge with strains of the pathogen of varying virulence. however, neither the free lipid a nor core-o-chain produced by mild acid hydrolysis of ... | 2003 | 12620383 |
| serologic evidence of human infection by francisella tularensis in the population of castilla y león (spain) prior to 1997. | prior to an outbreak in castilla y león in december 1997, tularaemia was practically non-existent in spain. in this paper we studied the prevalence of antibodies against francisella tularensis in a representative sample of the population (4825 people) from castilla y león (spain) in samples collected before this outbreak. antibodies against f. tularensis were detected in nine (0.19%) of the 4825 sera, with antibody titres ranging from 1/20 to 1/160. of these nine sera, one was positive in seroag ... | 2003 | 12628554 |
| [tularemia in inactive natural foci]. | the data on the epidemiological and epizootological manifestations of tularemia on the territory of the ulyanovsk region are presented. the characteristics describing the process of the of francisella tularensis circulation as well as the environmental objects, most important for the manifestations of tularemia infection, are given. | 2003 | 12630366 |
| tularemia on martha's vineyard: seroprevalence and occupational risk. | we conducted a serosurvey of landscapers to determine if they were at increased risk for exposure to francisella tularensis and to determine risk factors for infection. in martha's vineyard, massachusetts, landscapers (n=132) were tested for anti-f. tularensis antibody and completed a questionnaire. for comparison, serum samples from three groups of nonlandscaper martha's vineyard residents (n=103, 99, and 108) were tested. twelve landscapers (9.1%) were seropositive, compared with one person to ... | 2003 | 12643831 |
| will the enigma of francisella tularensis virulence soon be solved? | francisella tularensis is one of the most infectious bacterial pathogens known and is the causative agent of the zoonotic disease tularemia. in spite of the importance of this pathogen little is known about its virulence mechanisms. however, it is clear that the bacterium is an intracellular pathogen, replicating mainly in macrophages, with replication in amoebae also having been reported. the genome sequence of a high virulence strain of f. tularensis is close to completion and when available, ... | 2003 | 12648943 |
| innate and adaptive immune responses to an intracellular bacterium, francisella tularensis live vaccine strain. | the immune response to intracellular bacterium, francisella tularensis, which causes tularemia and is proposed to be a potential bioterrorism pathogen, has been studied in mice using the attenuated live vaccine strain (lvs). here we review this infection model, which provides a convenient means of studying protective immune mechanisms not only for francisella, but also for the large and important class of intracellular pathogens. | 2003 | 12650771 |