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Tularemia in children
Solmaz Celebi1, Mustafa Hacimustafaoglu, Suna Gedikoglu
1Department of Pediatrics, Uludag University Medical Faculty, Gorukle, Bursa, Turkey. solmaz@uludag.edu.tr
Insights
An outbreak of tularemia in Bursa, Turkey, primarily affected children with oropharyngeal symptoms. This waterborne bacterial infection, caused by Francisella tularensis, was successfully treated in all pediatric cases.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Tularemia, caused by Francisella tularensis, presents diagnostic and treatment challenges.
- Understanding tularemia epidemics is crucial for public health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate a tularemia epidemic in Bursa, Turkey.
- To specifically evaluate pediatric cases during the outbreak.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of pediatric tularemia cases.
- Diagnosis based on clinical presentation and serological testing.
Main Results:
- A 2004 epidemic in Bursa involved 70 individuals, including 10 children.
- Oropharyngeal tularemia was the predominant form in pediatric cases (70%).
- All pediatric patients recovered without complications, with most over 10 treated with doxycycline.
Conclusions:
- The tularemia epidemic in Bursa was likely waterborne.
- Inadequately treated water served as the source of infection.
Objective:
Tularemia, an infection caused by the coccobacilus Francisella tularensis, can be a difficult disease process to diagnose and treat. The aim of this study was to evaluate an epidemic of tularemia in Bursa.
Methods:
In this study, we included only pediatric cases. All the cases were diagnosed on clinical and serological grounds.
Results:
During an epidemic of tularemia in a village of Bursa on December 2004, 70 people (60 adults, 10 children) fell ill. In children with tularemia, the oropharyngeal form predominated which was diagnosed 70% of cases. Most of the patients (80%) who had older than 10 years old, were treated with doxycycline. All patients recovered without complications.
Conclusion:
The epidemic was thought to be waterborne. The vehicle of the infections was inadequately treated water which was used by the patient in the village.
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