Volume 10, Number 3—March 2004
Research
Laboratory Analysis of Tularemia in Wild-Trapped, Commercially Traded Prairie Dogs, Texas, 2002
Table 1
Laboratory results for outbreak of tularemia in wild-trapped, commercially sold prairie dogs
Group | Prairie dogs | No. of animals | Presumptive-positive samplesa | Confirmed-positive samplesb | Confirmed-negative samplesc |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A |
Exotic animal facility, Texas, bin 1, dead animals |
47d |
7 |
40 |
0 |
B |
Exotic animal facility, Texas, bin 1, live animals |
23 |
0 |
20 |
3 |
C |
Exotic animal facility, Texas, escapees |
36 |
0 |
1 |
35 |
D |
Exotic animal facility, Texas bin 2 and cages, healthy |
58 |
0 |
0 |
58 |
E |
Pet shop recalls, originating from exotic animal facility, Texas |
7 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
F | Czech Republic, originating from exotic animal facility, Texas | 100 | 5 | 1 | Not determined |
aPrairie dogs were confirmed positive on recovery of an isolate with characteristic
growth on cysteine heart agar with 9% sheep blood and positive testing of the isolate by direct fluorescent assay (DFA) or ISFtu2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
bPrairie dogs were considered presumptive positive if primary tissues tested positive by
DFA or PCR but no isolate was obtained.
cPrairie dogs were confirmed negative if all three diagnostic tests (culture, DFA, serologic testing) failed to detect any evidence of Francisella tularensis infection.
d46 animals that remained on site August 2, 2002, plus 1 animal that initiated the outbreak
investigation (TX021935)