Bandouchova et al. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2011, 53:2 http://www.actavetscand.com/content/53/1/2 Page 11 of 13 Figure 11 Lipid peroxidation assessed as total thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) in plasma samples of European brown hares on individual days post-inoculation with F. tularensis. See Figure 1 for a detailed description of groups. obtained were consistent with the development of para- meters measured by standard biochemical procedures. The correlation between TBARS and LMWAs oxidiz- able at a potential of 550 mV (i.e. uric and ascorbic acids) was statistically significant (n = 96, R = 0.30, p = 0.02). Thus the above results validated data obtained by square wave voltammetry in the present study. Comparison of biochemistry profiles from hares sur- viving or succumbing to the F. tularensis infection is another important issue. Figures 1 to 11, however, demonstrate that there was a general trend in the devel- opment of each biochemistry parameter after the F. tularensis inoculation, common to survivors and dying hares. The biochemical responses of various hosts to the development of tularemia were recently reported to vary. Differences in lipid metabolism (triglycerides and total cholesterol) were found in highly susceptible BALB/c mice and common voles [18] but, interestingly, not in the European brown hare in the present study. It seems that the European brown hare may be considered to have relatively lower susceptibility to tularemia. It is necessary to distinguish serologically positive specimens with and without clinical signs of the disease. Antibodies against F. tularensis may be recognized as early as 7 days post-infection [25]. Mortality in the present study occurred no later than 9 days post-infection in the European brown hare, and hares surviving to day 35 post-inoculation were free of F. tularensis based on cul- ture and the mouse inoculation test. In our opinion, conditions leading to the development of clinical tulare- mia in hares should be further studied. Apart from vec- tor-borne transmission, there are other routes of infection such as drinking contaminated water or the inhalation of infectious aerosols. It may be hypothesized that co-exposure of hares to other stressors may enhance their susceptibility to infection. The role of the tick salivary gland extract in accelerating and enabling the proliferation of F. tularensis in the host has also been recognized [42]. Conclusions Low molecular weight antioxidants such as uric and ascorbic acids and glutathione were assayed using square wave voltammetry and the results obtained were consistent with the development of parameters mea- sured by standard biochemical procedures. Contrary to all expectations, the results of the present study show