title: Serologic evidence of human infection by Francisella tularensis in the population of Castilla y León (Spain) prior to 1997.
abstract: Prior to an outbreak in Castilla y León in December 1997, tularaemia was practically non-existent in Spain. In this paper we studied the prevalence of antibodies against Francisella tularensis in a representative sample of the population (4825 people) from Castilla y León (Spain) in samples collected before this outbreak. Antibodies against F. tularensis were detected in nine (0.19%) of the 4825 sera, with antibody titres ranging from 1/20 to 1/160. Of these nine sera, one was positive in seroagglutination against Brucella. Seroagglutination against other bacteria (Yersinia enterocolitica O:9 and O:3 and Proteus OX19) was negative in all sera. Seroprevalence of antibodies in females was 0.20% and 0.17% in males; no statistically significant differences were found in prevalence in terms of sex, age or province.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia, Hospital Clinico Universitario, Facultad de Medicina Area de Microbiologia, Ramón y Cajal 7, 47005 Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: María P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bratos
authors.forename: Jose I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Garrote
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dueñas
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Almaraz
authors.forename: Rufino
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alamo
authors.forename: Henar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Marcos
authors.forename: María J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Recio
authors.forename: María F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orduña
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Torres
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005604:Francisella tularensis / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014406:Tularemia / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial