Francisella tularensis, the agent of tularemia, is a Gram-negative coccobacillus primarily pathogen for animals and occasionally for humans. The clinical manifestations of tularemia include pneumonia, ulceroglandular, oropharyngeal, or typhoidal disease. Rare manifestations are also described, but to our knowledge, we describe here the first case of F. tularensis aortitis in a human. Diagnosis was confirmed by the presence of F. tularensis in blood culture, by the presence of F. tularensis DNA in the aortic biopsy and by specific IgG and IgM responses against the bacteria. The outcome was favorable after surgery and specific antimicrobial therapy.
Keywords: Aortitis; Atherosclerosis; Bacteremia; Infrequent presentation; Tularemia.