DISEASE NAME:
Tularemia
CATEGORY:
Zoonotic
Tularemia
Tularemia is a potentially serious illness caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. Human infection can occur through bites of infected insects (ticks, mosquitoes and flies). Less commonly, inhaling contaminated dust or ingesting contaminated food or water can also produce clinical disease.
Tularemia is a notifiable disease in Ireland. Since becoming notifiable in 2012, there have been no domestically acquired cases of Tularemia and one internationally acquired case in 2023.
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Last updated: 27 March 2024
Case Definitions
Clinical criteria
Any person with at least one of the following clinical forms:
- Ulceroglandular tularemia
- Cutaneous ulcer
AND
- Regional lymphadenopathy
- Glandular tularemia
- Enlarged and painful lymph nodes without apparent ulcer
- Oculoglandular tularemia
- Conjunctivitis
AND
- Regional lymphadenopathy
- Oropharyngeal tularemia
- Cervical lymphadenopathy
AND
at least one of the following three:
- Stomatitis
- Pharyngitis
- Tonsillitis
- Intestinal tularemia
At least one of the following three:
- Abdominal pain
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Pneumonic tularemia
- Pneumonia
- Typhoidal tularemia
At least one of the following two:
- Fever without early localising signs and symptoms
- Septicaemia
Laboratory criteria
At least one of the following three:
- Isolation of Francisella tularensis from a clinical specimen
- Detection of Francisella tularensis nucleic acid in a clinical specimen
- Francisella tularensis specific antibody response
Epidemiological criteria
At least one of the following three epidemiological links:
- Exposure to a common source
- Animal to human transmission
- Exposure to contaminated food/drinking water
Case classification
A. Possible case
NA
B. Probable case
Any person meeting the clinical criteria and with an epidemiological link
C. Confirmed case
Any person meeting the clinical and the laboratory criteria
Current as of: 7 March 2019
Ireland’s specialist service for the surveillance of communicable diseases.