WHAT: The respiratory form of tularemia, a potentially serious
bacterial disease, is a significant public health concern
because it is highly infectious, it has a high mortality rate if
untreated, and it could be introduced into a population in an
intentional act of bioterror. Though much research is focused on
developing drugs and vaccines targeted to the bacterium that
causes tularemia, Francisella tularensis, little is known about
the role that antibodies play in protecting against infection. A
research team led by Dennis W. Metzger, Ph.D., at the Albany
Medical College in New York has now shown that treating
laboratory mice with a serum containing tularemia-specific
antibodies protects the mice against F. tularensis, not only if
given before exposure to lethal doses of inhalational F.
tularensis but also up to 48 hours after exposure. These
findings suggest a possible alternative treatment approach to
traditional antibiotics. In the absence of a licensed vaccine,
such an approach might prove especially us