2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Online Program

338714
Tularemia in a Group of Falconers


Monday, November 2, 2015

Veronica Fialkowski, MPH, Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Section, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Lansing, MI
Kimberly Signs, DVM, Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Section, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Lansing, MI
Mary Grace Stobierski, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Section, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Lansing, MI
Tularemia is a highly infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. The disease is transmitted to humans by direct contact with an infected animal, inhalation of contaminated aerosols, tick or deer fly bite, ingestion of contaminated water, and/or laboratory exposure. We describe two cases of tularemia associated with a group of Michigan falconers who traveled to Kansas in October of 2014 for rabbit hunting. Multiple potential exposures are examined, and disease prevention recommendations are provided. These two cases highlight the potential risk of tularemia for a unique subset of hunters.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Identify exposures of tularemia specifically regarding falconers and describe disease prevention recommendations.

Keyword(s): Epidemiology, Veterinary Public Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I currently am working at the MDHHS in a 2 year post-master’s degree epidemiology fellowship. The focus area of my fellowship is zoonotic/vectorborne disease epidemiology. The fellowship is designed to train recent post-master’s graduates in the expanding field of applied epidemiology with a goal to provide a high quality training. My primary mentor is Kimberly Signs, DVM, a senior zoonotic disease epidemiologist, with over ten years of experience in zoonotic disease surveillance and outbreak investigation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3111.0: Humans, animals, and public health