Tularemia in otolaryngology: a forgotten but not gone disease and a possible sign of bio-terrorism.

Tularemia, also called Ohara’s disease, is an acute bacterial infectious disease caused by a pleomorphic, non-mobile, non-capsulated, small Gram negative coccobacillus and zoonotic bacterium, Francisella tularensis. This zoonotic bacteria has reportedly infected a wide range of wild animals (rabbits, hares, squirrels, muskrats, moles, skunks, beavers, deer), some domestic animals (sheep, cattle, cats), birds, some amphibians and many invertebrates (ticks, deer ies, mosquitoes). In the USA and especially the State of Arkansas, the most important reservoir hosts are rabbits, ticks and possibly squirrels. Humans have occasionally been infected in rural areas, mainly the northern hemisphere.