infections
Tularemia
Types of Tularemia
There are several types of tularemia. This type is the most common. Painful open sores (ulcers) develop where the bacteria entered the skin: through a break in the skin, usually on the hands and fingers, or a tick bite, usually in the groin, armpit, or trunk. The bacteria travel to nearby lymph nodes, making them swollen and painful. Occasionally, the skin around the lymph nodes breaks down, and pus may drain from them. The lymph nodes become swollen and painful, but skin sores do not form. An eye becomes painful, swollen, and red, and pus often oozes from it. Nearby lymph nodes become swollen and painful. Oculoglandular tularemia probably results from touching the eye with a contaminated finger or from having infected fluid splashed into the eye. The throat (pharynx) is sore, and lymph nodes in the neck are swollen. Some people also have abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Oropharyngeal tularemia is usually caused by eating undercooked contaminated meat or drinking contaminated water. Chills, high fever, and abdominal pain develop, but no sores form and lymph nodes do not swell. Typhoidal tularemia develops when the bloodstream is infected. Sometimes the source of infection is unknown. The lungs are infected. People may have a dry cough, be short of breath, and have chest pain. A rash may appear. Pneumonic tularemia is caused by inhaling the bacteria or spread of the bacteria through the bloodstream to the lungs. This type develops in 10 to 15% of people with ulceroglandular tularemia and in 50% of people with typhoidal tularemia. This rare type is the most serious. It is a bodywide illness that develops when bacteria spread through the bloodstream and cause many organs to malfunction. Blood pressure is low, the lungs fill with fluid, and clotting factors in blood are used up, causing bleeding ( Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC) ). 