Bangladesh anthrax outbreaks are probably caused by contaminated livestock feed

Abstract

<jats:title>SUMMARY</jats:title><jats:p>In Bangladesh from 1 July to 30 September 2010 there were 104 animal cases of anthrax and 607 associated human cases. This investigation was conducted in Sirajganj district in December 2010, on eight farms where animal cases had occurred.<jats:italic>Bacillus anthracis</jats:italic>was recovered from soil samples and turbinate bones on six farms. Canonical single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis showed that all the isolates belonged to the major lineage A, sublineage A.Br.001/002 of China and South East Asia while a multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) with 15 VNTRs demonstrated three unique genotypes. The single nucleotide repeat (SNR) analyses showed two SNR types in 97 out of 99 isolates; nevertheless, due to its higher discriminatory power the presence of two isolates with different SNR-type polymorphisms were detected within two MLVA genotypes. The epidemic occurred during the monsoon season, a time of extensive flooding, suggesting that the source was contaminated feed, not grazing, which is supported by the genetic variance.</jats:p>

Modeling the Ecological Niche of Bacillus anthracis to Map Anthrax Risk in Kyrgyzstan

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Investigation and Control of Anthrax Outbreak at the Human–Animal Interface, Bhutan, 2010

“…Other strains from nearby Bangladesh and India were recently characterized and belong to the more widely dispersed A lineage. However, isolates from the Bhutan outbreak were found to be part of the multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis B1 lineage (genotype 83) and canonical single-nucleotide polymorphism subgroup B.Br.001/002 (Figure 1) ( 10 – 13 ). The B lineage is less widespread and primarily associated with South Africa, but it has been reported in parts of the United States, Europe, and Asia, including the Caucasus region in a recent report ( 10 – 14 ).…”

ELISA Based Anthrax Antibody Titer in Cattle Induced by Locally Prepared Anthrax Vaccine Originated from Sterne F-24 Strain in Bangladesh

“…In Bangladesh, the disease was sporadically reported in animals and human until 2009 (Ahmed et al, 2010). In recent years, the disease occurred repeatedly; the outbreaks indicated that the disease is no longer sporadic, rather enzootic in Bangladesh (Ahmed et al, 2010;Fasanella et al, 2013;Ahsan et al, 2013).In different areas of Bangladesh, 14 outbreaks occurred during the period of August 2009 to October 2010, affecting 140 animals and subsequently to 273 humans. This created a panic to the people.…”