Robert Koch Institute, Centre for Biological Security (ZBS 2), Berlin, Germany.
Euro Surveill. 2012 Jul 12;17(28):20217. doi: 10.2807/ese.17.28.20217-en.
Tularaemia, caused by Francisella tularensis, had not been registered in Kosovo before an outbreak in 1999 and 2000. A national surveillance system has been implemented in Kosovo since 2000 to monitor a number of diseases, including tularaemia. Antibody detection in human sera was used for laboratory diagnosis of tularaemia and F. tularensis lipopolysaccharide antigen was used as a marker of infection. The purpose of this study is to describe the incidence of tularaemia in Kosovo after the 1999-00 outbreak. In 2001 and 2002, a second outbreak occurred, with 327 serologically confirmed cases. From 2001 to 2010, 25-327 cases were registered per year, giving a mean annual incidence of 5.2 per 100,000 population. The most likely sources of infection were contaminated drinking water and food. The dominant clinical manifestations were the glandular (79%) and ulcero-glandular (21%) forms. By 2010, the disease had spread throughout Kosovo. Presumably as a result of war and subsequent environmental disruption, mass population displacement and breakdown of sanitation and hygiene, the two major outbreaks of tularaemia resulted in the establishment of an active endemic area of tularaemia in Kosovo.
土拉菌病由土拉弗朗西斯菌引起，1999 年和 2000 年的疫情爆发前，科索沃尚未登记过该病。自 2000 年以来，科索沃已实施了国家监测系统，以监测包括土拉菌病在内的多种疾病。人体血清中的抗体检测用于土拉菌病的实验室诊断，而土拉弗朗西斯菌脂多糖抗原则被用作感染的标志物。本研究旨在描述 1999-00 年疫情爆发后科索沃的土拉菌病发病率。2001 年和 2002 年发生了第二次疫情爆发，有 327 例血清学确诊病例。2001 年至 2010 年，每年登记的病例数为 25-327 例，年均发病率为每 10 万人 5.2 例。最有可能的感染源是受污染的饮用水和食物。主要的临床表现为腺型（79%）和溃疡腺型（21%）。到 2010 年，该病已蔓延至科索沃各地。由于战争和随后的环境破坏、大规模人口流离失所以及卫生和卫生设施的崩溃，两次大规模的土拉菌病疫情导致科索沃建立了一个活跃的土拉菌病地方性流行区。
