Updated:
2024-04-23, 13:37
Knowledge of treatment effects, the right kind of antibiotics and quick start of treatment. There are some important factors to consider when someone is affected by tularemia, or harpest as it is popularly called. This is stated in a research report published in the infection journal Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID). Behind the report is a research team from Region Norrbotten and Umeå University.
Under the leadership of Tomas Gustafsson, infectious disease physician at Sunderby Hospital and working as a researcher at the Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, a research team has followed up patients affected by harpest 2011-2021.
It is a cohort study where a group of individuals has been followed over time. There were 415 people who agreed to participate, making it one of the largest studies in the field.
Common with wrong initial diagnosis
The researchers have looked at several different factors in terms of treatment results of laboratory-confirmed tularemia cases in Norrbotten.
The average age of the participants is 54 years and approximately half are women and half are men. In addition to examining their medical records, they also had to answer a questionnaire.
It appears, among other things, that the patients often received an incorrect initial diagnosis and that 20 percent received the wrong antibiotics at the first visit. In contrast, over 85 percent were cured by a single course of antibiotics when given the right antibiotics – although some received more than one course or had lymph nodes that needed to be surgically drained. The study further provides strong support that the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin is a good choice for the treatment of herpes.
Tomas Gustafsson, infectious disease doctor at Sunderby Hospital and working as a researcher at the Institute for Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University.
Quality stamp for Norrbotten
The treatment results are really good compared to international studies, where you often see a large percentage of treatment failures.
– This is probably because the patients in our study received correct treatment on average already seven days after the onset of symptoms, while in some international studies it can take over a month, says Tomas Gustafsson, who is happy that the study has been published in Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID) .
– It’s great that the study was published in such a reputable journal. It is a bit of a quality stamp for infection research in Norrbotten, he says.
In addition to Tomas Gustafsson, the research team includes research doctor Martin Plymoth who is the first author of the study, infectious disease doctor Anders Nystedt and biostatistician Robert Lundqvist, all from Region Norrbotten, as well as professor Anders Sjöstedt from Umeå University.
Text: Jonas Hansson
Photo: Private
Facts about harpest
Tularemia, popularly called harpest, is an unusual infectious disease which in Sweden is most common in Norrland. It is caused by a bacterium and can be transmitted between animals and humans. Although it is called harpest, it is usually transmitted via mosquitoes.
The symptoms when falling ill are acute with high fever, headache and nausea. Often you get a wound that does not heal and the nearby lymph nodes become larger and tender.
Tularemia is a notifiable disease according to the Infection Control Act and must be reported to the infection control doctor by the attending physician. The disease is treated with antibiotics.
