Investigation of Francisella tularensis Seroprevalence and Determination of Risk Factors for Tularemia among Hunters in Northern Cyprus

Background: Tularemia is a zoonotic disease (reservoir is usually rodents) caused by Francisella tularensis, especially seen in the northern hemisphere. Hunters are in the risk group for this disease. In this study, it was aimed to determine the seroprevalence of tularemia among hunters and determine the risk factors of tularemia in our country. Methods: The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is divided into four regions (Nicosia, Kyrenia, Famagu­sta/Trikomo, and Morphou/Lefka) and 100 volunteer hunters randomly selected from these regions were included in our study. Tube agglutination test (TAT) and F. tularensis IgG and IgM (ELISA method) were applied in all sera. All hunt­ers were filled with a pre-prepared questionnaire to determine risk factors for tularemia. Results: TAT positivity was found in 11%. While F. tularensis ELISA IgG positivity was 17%, IgM positivity was not found in any hunters. Hunters with positive F. tularensis ELISA IgG test (17%) were accepted as seropositive in terms of tularemia. There was no statistically significant difference between the mean age of IgG-positive and negative hunt­ers (p= 0.915). Of the 86 hunters who kept at least one hunting dog in their garden, 15 (17.4%) were IgG-positive. There was no significant relationship between feeding hunting dogs and tularemia (p= 0.561). Conclusion: Our study showed that the seroprevalence of tularemia was high (17%) among hunters, who are consid­ered a risk group, in our country. We think that more epidemiological research should be done on tularemia infection and it should not be overlooked in the clinic.