Electroporation of Francisella tularensis.

Francisella tularensis is the gram-negative cocco-bacillus that is the etiologic agent of the highly infectious zoonosis, tularemia. In North America, tularemia presents as an acute febrile lymphadenitis that can progress into a life-threatening pneumonic illness (1). The disease is usually acquired through the bite of an arthropod vector or from handling contagious wild rabbits. In Europe and Asia, tularemia is often acquired from consumption of contaminated water or inhalation of contaminated dust. The course of disease for European and Asian tularemia is much milder than the North American disease, with rare fatal infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]