The bacteria tularemia is caused by the organism francisella tularensis. It is considered one of the most infectious pathogenic bacteria known. Because of its extreme infectivity, ease of dissemination, and enormous ability to cause sickness and death, it is considered to be a dangerous biological weapon. To date, there has been no documented human to human transmission. In the 1960's, tularemia was stockpiled by the United States and destroyed in 1973. The most common use of francisella tularensis as a weapon would be as an aerosol release. An aerosol release would cause the greatest medical and public health consequences. In the event of a mass exposure setting, simple, rapid, and reliable diagnostic tests to identify those individuals infected with francisella tularensis need to be developed. In addition, it is recommended that accurate and reliable procedures in detecting this organism be developed.