Abstract
Nine cases exhibiting cutaneous eruptions among 230 cases of “Yatobyo” (Tularemia in Japan) at Ohara General Hospital during the last sixteen years from Jan., 1937 to Dec., 1952 were studied.
Most of them were young farmers (6 male and 3 female) from 20 to 30 years of age, who had many chances of contact with wild rabbits in the hunting season, (from November to next February), but only one case, which occurred in July, was caused by tick-bite on the scrotum.
The eruption developed chiefly during the first or second week of the illness, but in two cases, it developed at the same time with the onset of the disease. The sites of predilection are the face, the neck, the breast and the upper extremities, i.e. parts in the upper half of the body. Moreover, it is an interesting fact that the exanthem was frequently localized at the same side as the adenopathy.
The eruption was various in type and not specific; sometimes of erythema multiforme or erythema nodosume type, at others urticarial, erythematous or follicular and resembling acne vulgaris. Usually the eruption accompanied fairly itchy or painful feelings.
It seemed to be an allergic exanthem, which disappeared with no trace in two or three weeks.
The skin test by heat-killed bacterial suspension was positive in eight cases, and the serum- and slide agglutination tests were positive in all cases. The antigen used was made from bact. tularense, Ebina strain, which was isolated from “Yatobyo” patients in our laboratory.
We express our deepest gratitude to Dr. Minor Itô, Professor of Tohoku University, for kindly revising this report, and to Dr. S. Ohara, Director of Ohara General Hospital, for his guidance in preparing it.
