Ep 121 Tularemia: Hare today, gone tomorrow

Origins

The origins of tularemia trace back to the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which created conditions ripe for disease outbreaks. Erin Welsh explains that the devastation led to a surge in rat populations, sparking fears of bubonic plague and prompting further research into disease ecology 1. This research led George McCoy to investigate ground squirrels in Tulare County, California, where he and Charles Chapin isolated a new bacterium, later named bacterium tularens 2. Erin Updyke notes the challenges faced by early scientists in isolating this bacterium, highlighting its infectious nature and the risks researchers took:

All of the men, six in number, who have been intimately connected during the past two years with the laboratory investigations of tularemia, which the public health service has been conducting, have contracted this disease.

--- Erin Welsh

Despite these challenges, the discovery marked a significant step in understanding tularemia's biology and transmission.

   

Misconceptions

Tularemia was once considered an American disease, a misconception that persisted for decades. Erin Welsh shares that early 20th-century scientific literature often referred to it as the "first American disease," a notion fueled by national pride in its discovery and study by American researchers 3. However, Erin Updyke points out that the bacterium, Francisella tularensis, is globally distributed, challenging this patriotic claim 4. The story of Edward Francis, a key figure in tularemia research, underscores the personal risks involved in studying this pathogen:

EF became ill in the late afternoon, feeling tired and weak and having a temperature of 102.2 degrees.

--- Erin Updyke

Francis's firsthand experience with the disease highlights the dedication and danger faced by early researchers in unraveling tularemia's mysteries.