AJTMH Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 80(2), 2009, pp. 259-262
Copyright © 2009 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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SHORT REPORT


Time Course of Hematogenous Dissemination of Francisella tularensis A1, A2, and Type B in Laboratory Mice

Rebecca J. Eisen*, Brook Yockey, John Young, Sara M. Reese, Joseph Piesman, Martin E. Schriefer, C. Ben Beard, AND Jeannine M. Petersen
Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado

 

ABSTRACT

Tularemia is a tick-borne zoonotic bacterial disease. In the United States, human tularemia infections are caused by Francisella tularensis subspecies tularensis (Type A, clades A1 and A2) or F. tularensis subspecies holarctica (Type B). We developed a mouse model that can be used to study the ability of ticks to acquire and transmit fully virulent strains of F. tularensis (A1, A2, and Type B). We showed that 1) bacteremia was evident by 2 days post-infection (dpi) for A1, A2, and B, 2) bacteremia was expected to reach levels of > 108 cfu/mL by 3 dpi for A1 and A2 but not until 4 dpi for Type B, and 3) illness onset was delayed for mice exposed to Type B compared with A1 and A2. To maximize the likelihood of ticks acquiring infection from laboratory-infected mice before they become moribund and must be euthanized, ticks should be placed on mice so that periods of rapid engorgement occur 3–4 dpi for A1 and A2 and 4–5 dpi for Type B. Rigorous experimental studies of tick vector competence and efficiency conducted under standardized conditions are required to address several significant public health issues related to preventing and controlling tularemia. Our study provides the basis for a mouse model needed as the starting point to address these questions.

Received June 5, 2008. Accepted for publication October 23, 2008.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank L. Eisen for comments on the manuscript and K. L. Gage for technical and logistical support.

* Address correspondence to Rebecca J. Eisen, DVBID/CDC, 3150 Rampart Road, Fort Collins, CO 80522. E-mail: dyn2{at}cdc.gov

Authors’ addresses: Rebecca J. Eisen, Brook Yockey, John Young, Sara M. Reese, Joseph Piesman, Martin E. Schreifer, C. Ben Beard, and Jeannine M. Petersen, Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3150 Rampart Road, Fort Collins, CO 80522.






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