Evidence of Local Persistence of Human Anthrax in the Country of Georgia Associated with Environmental and Anthropogenic Factors

Abstract

BackgroundAnthrax is a soil-borne disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis and is considered a neglected zoonosis. In the country of Georgia, recent reports have indicated an increase in the incidence of human anthrax. Identifying sub-national areas of increased risk may help direct appropriate public health control measures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the spatial distribution of human anthrax and identify environmental/anthropogenic factors associated with persistent clusters.Methods/FindingsA database of human cutaneous anthrax in Georgia during the period 2000–2009 was constructed using a geographic information system (GIS) with case data recorded to the community location. The spatial scan statistic was used to identify persistence of human cutaneous anthrax. Risk factors related to clusters of persistence were modeled using a multivariate logistic regression. Areas of persistence were identified in the southeastern part of the country. Results indicated that the persistence of human cutaneous anthrax showed a strong positive association with soil pH and urban areas.Conclusions/SignificanceAnthrax represents a persistent threat to public and veterinary health in Georgia. The findings here showed that the local level heterogeneity in the persistence of human cutaneous anthrax necessitates directed interventions to mitigate the disease. High risk areas identified in this study can be targeted for public health control measures such as farmer education and livestock vaccination campaigns.

Identifying hotspots of human anthrax transmission using three local clustering techniques

“…A GIS database of 171 communities with at least one reported HCA case was constructed in ArcGIS v10 for the time period 2000 to 2012. Locations of communities reporting human anthrax were geocoded following Kracalik et al (2013) (Fig. 1).…”

“…Global clustering tests, including the Moran's I (Moran, 1950) and the Ripley's K (Ripley, 1977) (to name a few commonly applied in the literature), are used to evaluate whether events are clustering over a study area, and in both cases the spatial scale at which clustering is maximized. For example, Kracalik et al (2013) employed a spatial correlogram to plot Moran's I value measured across a range of distance thresholds to illustrate the level of clustering of anthrax cases in Georgia. Likewise, O'Brien et al (1999) described methods to define the maximum scale of clustering for Ripley's K plots, such as comparing the difference between the observed and expected values across distances.…”

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

“…2 However, in resource-limited areas, widespread vaccination may be financially prohibitive and untenable. Of particular concern are agrarian and resource-limited countries in the Caucasus [2][3][4] and Central Asia, [5][6][7] where independence from the former Soviet Union has hindered public health management because of decreased funding. 5 In Central Asia, anthrax represents a major veterinary and public health concern 5,7,8 .…”

Occurrence of Anthrax Spores in Small Ruminants Hair/Wool in District Tharparkar, Sindh

“…Sporulation only occurs when the vegetative form is exposed to the atmosphere and conditions are unfavorable for the continued multiplication of the vegetative form. Anthrax spores are resistant to heat and chemical disinfectants (Coffin et al, 2015;Kracalik et al, 2013). To prevent environment contamination, it is usual not to perform a necropsy on the carcass of suspected or confirmed cases.…”