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Williams MS, Baker MR, Guina T, Hewitt JA, Lanning L, Hill H, May JM, Fogtman B, Pittman PR. Retrospective Analysis of Pneumonic Tularemia in Operation Whitecoat Human Subjects: Disease Progression and Tetracycline Efficacy. Front Med (Lausanne) 2019; 6:229. [PMID: 31696118 PMCID: PMC6818494 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2019.00229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Francisella tularensis is a highly infectious Gram-negative bacterium that is the etiologic agent of tularemia in animals and humans. The incidence of tularemia is very low with a lack of comprehensive data that describe disease in humans due to difficulty in understanding time and routes of exposure. Under the title Operation Whitecoat, researchers at Ft. Detrick, MD conducted 40 clinical studies of tularemia from 1958 to 1968. In these studies, one of the objectives was to evaluate candidate countermeasures for treatment or prophylaxis of disease after exposure to Francisella tularensis strain Schu S4 by inhalation. These studies were reviewed retrospectively to delineate the early signs and symptoms or natural history of pneumonic tularemia and examine the efficacy of tetracycline in controlled human clinical studies. Using vital signs, onset of fever was objectively defined and calculated for each subject, while Adverse Events reported after exposure were also used to define the timing of disease onset and symptoms of early disease. There was a dose response relationship between time to fever onset and exposed dose at 200 cfu (172.8 h), 700 cfu (163.2 h), 2,500 cfu (105.3 h), and 25,000 cfu (75.5 h). Onset of fever was typically the earliest sign of disease at all doses but was often accompanied by symptoms such as headache, myalgia, chest pain, and nausea, irrespective of dose except at 200 cfu where only 50% of subjects exhibited fever onset or symptoms. Examining the efficacy of different treatment regimens of tetracycline, ineffective treatments were indicated by relapse of disease (fever and Adverse Events) after cessation of antibiotic treatment. Stratification of the data suggested that treatment for <14 days or doses <2g/day was associated with increased percentage of subjects with relapse of disease symptoms. Although these types of human challenge studies would not be ethically possible now, the climate post-World War II supported human testing under rigorous conditions with informed consent. Thus, going back and analyzing these unique clinical human challenge studies has helped describe the course of infection and disease induced by a biothreat pathogen and possible countermeasures for treatment under controlled conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark S Williams
- Office of Biodefense Research Resources and Translational Research, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Marianne R Baker
- Office of Biodefense Research Resources and Translational Research, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Tina Guina
- Office of Biodefense Research Resources and Translational Research, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Judith A Hewitt
- Office of Biodefense Research Resources and Translational Research, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Lynda Lanning
- Office of Regulatory Affairs, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | | | | | - Beverly Fogtman
- Department of Clinical Research, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, MD, United States
| | - Phillip R Pittman
- Department of Clinical Research, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, MD, United States
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Abstract
The performance of an aerosol inoculator for human volunteers is described in tests that used the PR8 strain of type A influenza virus and sodium fluorescein as a physical tracer. Virus recovery from the aerosols was approximately 1% and was unaffected by such variables as prolonged aerosolization, total airflow, relative humidity, or method of sampling. The recovery of sodium fluorescein from the aerosol was approximately 12% and was influenced by total airflow rates and relative humidity. With this apparatus, it should be possible to deliver reasonably predictable and measurable doses of respiratory viruses to human subjects. The design makes it possible to dismantle the inoculator into its component parts to facilitate portability.
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Gerone PJ, Couch RB, Keefer GV, Douglas RG, Derrenbacher EB, Knight V. Assessment of experimental and natural viral aerosols. BACTERIOLOGICAL REVIEWS 1966; 30:576-88. [PMID: 5917337 PMCID: PMC378244 DOI: 10.1128/br.30.3.576-588.1966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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Couch RB, Cate TR, Douglas RG, Gerone PJ, Knight V. Effect of route of inoculation on experimental respiratory viral disease in volunteers and evidence for airborne transmission. BACTERIOLOGICAL REVIEWS 1966; 30:517-29. [PMID: 5920335 PMCID: PMC378233 DOI: 10.1128/br.30.3.517-529.1966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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