Emerging Infectious Diseases (May 2019)

Phylogenetic Analysis of Francisella tularensis Group A.II Isolates from 5 Patients with Tularemia, Arizona, USA, 2015–2017

  • Dawn N. Birdsell,
  • Hayley Yaglom,
  • Edwin Rodriguez,
  • David M. Engelthaler,
  • Matthew Maurer,
  • Marlene Gaither,
  • Jacob Vinocur,
  • Joli Weiss,
  • Joel Terriquez,
  • Kenneth Komatsu,
  • Mary Ellen Ormsby,
  • Marette Gebhardt,
  • Catherine Solomon,
  • Linus Nienstadt,
  • Charles H.D. Williamson,
  • Jason W. Sahl,
  • Paul S. Keim,
  • David M. Wagner

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2505.180363
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 25, no. 5
pp. 944 – 946

Abstract

Read online

We examined 5 tularemia cases in Arizona, USA, during 2015–2017. All were caused by Francisella tularensis group A.II. Genetically similar isolates were found across large spatial and temporal distances, suggesting that group A.II strains are dispersed across long distances by wind and exhibit low replication rates in the environment.

Keywords