Tularemia in Children

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. [Indian J Pediatr 2008; 75 (11) : 1129-1132] E-mail: solmaz@uludag.edu.tr