Tularemia: What Happens if Treatment is Delayed?

Tularemia is a zoonotic disease transmitted to humans through arthropod bites, direct contact with infected animals, or consumption of water and food contaminated with animal carcasses or waste. This disease presents with various clinical courses and is endemic in our country. Anamnesis has an important role in diagnosis. Patients presenting with tonsillopharyngitis may cause a delay in diagnosis. If the initiation of antibiotic therapy is delayed, the clinical course is directly affected and the complication rate increases significantly. In this article, we present a case initially diagnosed with streptococcal tonsillopharyngitis, who underwent treatment with multiple antibiotics. Due to the delayed initiation of appropriate antibiotic therapy, the treatment duration was prolonged, leading to the development of various complications.