Serological evidence of <i>Francisella tularensis</i> in febrile patients seeking treatment at remote hospitals, northeastern Kenya, 2014-2015.


Njeru, J, Tomaso, H, Mertens, K, Henning, K, Wareth, G ORCID: 0000-0001-6259-1932, Heller, R, Kariuki, S, Fèvre, EM ORCID: 0000-0001-8931-4986, Neubauer, H and Pletz, MW (2017) Serological evidence of <i>Francisella tularensis</i> in febrile patients seeking treatment at remote hospitals, northeastern Kenya, 2014-2015. New microbes and new infections, 19. pp. 62-66.

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Abstract

Tularaemia is a highly contagious infectious zoonosis caused by the bacterial agent <i>Francisella tularensis</i>. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of antibodies to <i>F. tularensis</i> in febrile patients in northeastern Kenya. During 2014-2015, 730 patients were screened for anti-<i>F. tularensis</i> antibodies using a combination of ELISA and Western blot. Twenty-seven (3.7%) individuals were positive for <i>F. tularensis</i>. Tularaemia was not suspected by the treating clinicians in any of them. Our results suggest that tularaemia may be present in Kenya but remain unreported, and emphasizes the need for local clinicians to broaden their diagnostic repertoire when evaluating patients with undifferentiated febrile illness.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Fever, Francisella tularensis, Kenya, seroprevalence, zoonoses
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 04 Sep 2017 07:51
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 06:56
DOI: 10.1016/j.nmni.2017.05.015
Open Access URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12879-017-2559-6
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3009282
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