Francisella tularensis

Testing site      

Alaska State Public Health Laboratory – Anchorage 

Anchorage Lab Request Form 

Diseases 

• Tularemia 
• Rabbit fever 
• Deer-fly fever 

Organisms 

Francisella tularensis 

Test Method 

PCR (polymerase chain reaction)  

Availability

1. All clients must consult with the Section of Epidemiology for approval before testing.  
2. If approved by Epidemiology, Contact ASPHL Biothreat Team before submitting samples.  

Specimen type 

• Organism isolate 
• blood cultures 
• biopsy tissue 
• ulcer or lesion scraping or aspirate 
• lesion swab 
• sputum 
• bronchial/tracheal wash 
• serum for serological diagnosis 
• environmental samples 

Specimen collection instructions 

Refer to ASM Sentinel Level Clinical Microbiology Guidelines and contact ASPHL with questions.

Storage and transport  

• Store refrigerated 
• Ship with cool packs 
• Ambient temperature shipping is acceptable 
• Package and label as UN3373 Biological Substance, Category B
• Ship as quickly as possible

With approval, ship to: Anchorage Public Health Laboratory, ATNN: Special Pathogens Unit. 

Results  

• Presumptive: F. tularensis detected/not detected   
• Confirmatory: F. tularensis detected/not detected 

A normal result is not detected. 

Turnaround time  

2-7 days 

Resources