Human anthrax outbreak associated with livestock exposure: Georgia, 2012

Navdarashvili, A.; Doker, Thomas J.; Geleishvili, Marika; Haberling, Dana L.; Kharod, Grishma A.; Rush, Thomas; Maes, Edmond F.; Zakhashvili, Khatuna; Imnadze, Paata; Bower, William A.; Walke, Henry; Shadomy, Sean V.

doi:10.1017/s0950268815001442

Cited by 15 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…We found that males had a higher incidence than females, in particular for adults, probably due to the occupational exposure. Among herders and farmers, men are usually more exposed to livestock than women by undertaking most agricultural activities such as pasturing and slaughtering [ 13 , 14 ]. Although incidences of human cases and livestock cases were significantly correlated, inconsistency was found in their spatial distributions in some provinces, e.g., Tibet and Sichuan, likely due to underreporting of anthrax case in livestock or the possibility that more than one person may contract the disease from a single animal [ 42 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping the Distribution of Anthrax in Mainland China, 2005–2013

Chen¹,

Lai²,

Yang³

et al. 2016

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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BackgroundAnthrax, a global re-emerging zoonotic disease in recent years is enzootic in mainland China. Despite its significance to the public health, spatiotemporal distributions of the disease in human and livestock and its potential driving factors remain poorly understood.Methodology/Principal FindingsUsing the national surveillance data of human and livestock anthrax from 2005 to 2013, we conducted a retrospective epidemiological study and risk assessment of anthrax in mainland China. The potential determinants for the temporal and spatial distributions of human anthrax were also explored. We found that the majority of human anthrax cases were located in six provinces in western and northeastern China, and five clustering areas with higher incidences were identified. The disease mostly peaked in July or August, and males aged 30–49 years had higher incidence than other subgroups. Monthly incidence of human anthrax was positively correlated with monthly average temperature, relative humidity and monthly accumulative rainfall with lags of 0–2 months. A boosted regression trees (BRT) model at the county level reveals that densities of cattle, sheep and human, coverage of meadow, coverage of typical grassland, elevation, coverage of topsoil with pH > 6.1, concentration of organic carbon in topsoil, and the meteorological factors have contributed substantially to the spatial distribution of the disease. The model-predicted probability of occurrence of human cases in mainland China was mapped at the county level.Conclusions/SignificanceAnthrax in China was characterized by significant seasonality and spatial clustering. The spatial distribution of human anthrax was largely driven by livestock husbandry, human density, land cover, elevation, topsoil features and climate. Enhanced surveillance and intervention for livestock and human anthrax in the high-risk regions, particularly on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, is the key to the prevention of human infections.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping the Distribution of Anthrax in Mainland China, 2005–2013

Chen¹,

Lai²,

Yang³

et al. 2016

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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“…As an infectious disease caused by the bacterium (Bacillus anthracis), Anthrax is spread through the intestines (ingestion), lungs (inhalation), or skin (cutaneous) (Berger et al, 2014;Azarkar and Bidaki, 2016). Exposure to infected animals (or their skin, wool, and meat) is the usual pathway of anthrax to humans (Navdarashvili et al, 2015).…”

Section: Infectious Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Airborne bioaerosols and their impact on human health

Kim

Kabir²,

Jahan

2018

Journal of Environmental Sciences

351

200

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Bioaerosols consist of aerosols originated biologically such as metabolites, toxins, or fragments of microorganisms that are present ubiquitously in the environment. International interests in bioaerosols have increased rapidly to broaden the pool of knowledge on their identification, quantification, distribution, and health impacts (e.g., infectious and respiratory diseases, allergies, and cancer). However, risk assessment of bioaerosols based on conventional culture methods has been hampered further by several factors such as: (1) the complexity of microorganisms or derivatives to be investigated; (2) the purpose, techniques, and locations of sampling; and (3) the lack of valid quantitative criteria (e.g., exposure standards and dose/effect relationships). Although exposure to some microbes is considered to be beneficial for health, more research is needed to properly assess their potential health hazards including inter-individual susceptibility, interactions with non-biological agents, and many proven/unproven health effects (e.g., atopy and atopic diseases).

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“…Given this, food safety remains a concern. Spatial studies have previously reported clusters of cases of cutaneous anthrax located in towns along the animal migration corridors that spread from Kakheti near the border with Azerbaijan, through Kvemo-Kartli near Armenia and Turkey [ 14 ]. New research needs to estimate transmission potential of cutaneous anthrax cases along pastoralist routes, especially if those cases are pastoralists themselves.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rates and risk factors for human cutaneous anthrax in the country of Georgia: National surveillance data, 2008–2015

et al. 2018

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IntroductionAnthrax is endemic in the country of Georgia. The most common cutaneous anthrax form accounts for 95% of anthrax cases and often is self-resolving. Humans are infected from processing contaminated animal products, contacting sick animals, or by insect bites.ObjectiveWe aimed to describe the burden of human cutaneous anthrax and associated risk factors using the national surveillance data.MethodsWe extracted all human cutaneous anthrax cases from Electronic Integrated Disease Surveillance System (EIDSS) from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2015. We conducted descriptive analyses to characterize the number of confirmed, probable and suspected cases by age groups, gender, ethnicity, year and geographic area.ResultsOut of 911 reported cutaneous anthrax cases, 299 (33%) were rejected. Out of remaining 612 cases, 437 (71%), 172 (28%), and 3 (<0.004%) were classified as confirmed, probable and suspected cases of cutaneous Anthrax, respectively; 467 (76.3%) were male. Georgians accounted for 56% (343/612) of cutaneous anthrax cases. Handling animal products (aOR 4.36, 95% CI 2.61–7.26) and living near pastoralist routes (aOR 2.74, 95%CI 1.57–4.76) were associated with cutaneous anthrax.ConclusionsThis study provides eight-year trends for cutaneous anthrax in humans in the country of Georgia. A comprehensive explanation for the observed rise and fall of the incidence rates of human cutaneous anthrax in 2008–2015 remains to be clarified but is likely associated with discontinuation of mandatory national livestock vaccination in 2008 coupled with weakened human and animal national health systems which were disrupted after the Soviet Union collapsed. Our analysis identifies living near pastoralist routes, handling animal products and travel to endemic areas within two weeks before the disease onset as risk factors for cutaneous anthrax. The evidence underscores the importance of One Health recommendations to activate anthrax awareness campaigns, supervise the destruction of known anthrax carcasses, record global position system coordinates of sites and disinfect infected soils and introduce a participatory health education tool on anthrax.

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Human anthrax outbreak associated with livestock exposure: Georgia, 2012

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

Mapping the Distribution of Anthrax in Mainland China, 2005–2013

Mapping the Distribution of Anthrax in Mainland China, 2005–2013

Airborne bioaerosols and their impact on human health

Rates and risk factors for human cutaneous anthrax in the country of Georgia: National surveillance data, 2008–2015

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