title: Identification of the source of Francisella tularensis infection by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis.
abstract: Tularemia is a zoonotic disease caused by Francisella tularensis. Most patients in Japan have reportedly acquired such infections through direct contact with infected Japanese hares. We recently encountered a patient who contracted tularemia after skinning and butchering a dead hare. Because the remains of the hare were available, we attempted to determine whether the patient actually contracted infection by handling the carcass. F. tularensis-specific sequences were successfully amplified by PCR from the patient specimens as well as from the remnants of discarded hare carcass. PCR amplification of the ISFtu2 and RD1 regions indicated infection by F. tularensis subsp. holarctica, which was considered as a prevalent strain in Japan. Furthermore, high-resolution multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) showed that the combination of repeat numbers in sequences from the patient and hare were indistinguishable, thus indicating that the patient had been infected with F. tularensis strain that had also infected the hare. These findings demonstrated that MLVA is a useful epidemiological investigational tool to identify possible sources of certain zoonotic diseases such as tularemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Science, National Institute of Infectious Diseases.
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Akitoyo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hotta
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Uda
authors.forename: Yoshie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Fumiaki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shinya
authors.forename: Shigeyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanabayashi
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005604:Francisella tularensis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D034621:Hares / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats; D058889:Molecular Typing / Q000379:methods*; D014406:Tularemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial