Volume 16, Number 2—February 2010
Research
Investigating an Airborne Tularemia Outbreak, Germany
Anja M. Hauri
, Iris Hofstetter, Erik Seibold, Philip Kaysser, Juergen Eckert, Heinrich Neubauer, and Wolf D. Splettstoesser1
, Iris Hofstetter, Erik Seibold, Philip Kaysser, Juergen Eckert, Heinrich Neubauer, and Wolf D. Splettstoesser1Table 1
Type of environmental samples taken and results of testing for Francisella tularensis, Germany, 2005*
| Type | No. samples | Origin | Results |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCR | Culture | Ag detection (LPS) | |||
| Water | 2 | Creek, water hose | Neg | Neg | Neg |
| Swabs | 16 | Game chamber | Neg | Neg (4/4) | – |
| Hare fur, insects | 3 | Game chamber | Neg | – | – |
| Liquid samples (flush) | 9 | Game chamber | Neg | – | - |
| Frozen parts of hares received from 9 different households (muscle, bone marrow, fluids recovered during thawing) | 14 | 12–14 hares (Lepus europaeus), shot 2005 Oct 29 | Pos 11*/14 | Neg (6/6) | Pos. 6†/14 |
| Liver/spleen samples | 29 | 15 hares, 1 nutria (Myocastor coypus), shot 2005 Dec 12 | Neg | – | – |
| Organs of hares (liver, spleen, whole blood) | 72 | 24 hares, shot 2006 Jan 7 and Jan 14 | Neg‡ | – | – |
*For all parts, tissue, bone marrow, and fluid from thawing were tested. Samples were considered positive when >2 materials were repeatedly positive by 2 different PCRs. Ag, antigen; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; Neg, negative; Pos, positive.
†Samples also positive by PCR.
‡PCR inhibition noticed for 19/24 blood samples.
