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

Thapa, Nirmal Kumar; Tenzin, Tenzin; Wangdi, Karma; Dorji, Tandin; Migma,; Dorjee, Jambay; Marston, Chung K.; Hoffmaster, Alex R.

doi:10.3201/eid2009.140181

Cited by 35 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…It is a soil-borne infection, caused by Bacillus anthracis and outbreaks generally occur after the climatic change. The disease is endemic in south Asia and Bangladesh (Thapa et al, 2014), especially enzootic in India and endemic in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir (Gunaseelan et al, 2011). The "incubator zones" for the presence of anthrax is an alkaline soil pH and dry periods which provides the microenvironment for spore survival and increased exposure to susceptible hosts.…”

Section: Anthraxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence, diagnosis, management and control of important diseases of ruminants with special reference to indian scenario

Saminathan¹,

Rana²,

Ramakrishnan³

et al. 2016

JEBAS

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India possess huge livestock population, which is endangered by different endemic infectious diseases (bacterial, viral, protozoan and parasitic), which collectively causes significant economic losses to the landless poor farming community. Infectious diseases impose economic losses by causing morbidity, mortality, decreased production (milk, meat, wool etc.), decreased feed conversion ratio which results in reduced weight gain, decreased draught power and fertility. Furthermore, economic burden is also due to the cost of treatment, abortion, consequences on internal livestock movement, germplasm and international trade. In addition, some of the diseases are zoonotic and inflicts considerable impact on public health. Uncertain agrarian climate, unpredictable weather, drought, floods, migration of livestock, scarcity of fodders, and unhygienic zoo-sanitary and healthcare practices together resulted in endemicity of diseases ultimately leads to more incidence and prevalence of livestock and poultry diseases throughout the year. Synchronized monitoring and surveillance of disease throughout the country is a fundamental requirement for sustainable livestock production. With fairly developed telecommunication in India, following technologies like interactive voice response system, SMS through mobile/cell phones and toll-free landline phones (voice mail) are required for enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of

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Section: Anthraxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence, diagnosis, management and control of important diseases of ruminants with special reference to indian scenario

Saminathan¹,

Rana²,

Ramakrishnan³

et al. 2016

JEBAS

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“…Handling carcasses of animals with suspected and con rmed anthrax has previously been established as a risk factor for cutaneous [19]. The location of the black eschars for most case-patients -on the hands and back -has also been observed in other studies demonstrating livestock-human transmission of anthrax [14], and is likely related to animal carcasses being carried over the shoulder. The community practice of smoking meat before consumption may have prevented cases of gastrointestinal anthrax.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Cutaneous anthrax associated with handling carcasses of animals that died suddenly of unknown cause: Arua District, Uganda, January 2015–August 2017

Aceng

Ario²,

Alitubeera³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background : Anthrax is a zoonotic vaccine-preventable disease that can be transmitted to humans from infected animals. During May–June 2017, three persons with probable cutaneous anthrax were reported in Arua District, Uganda; one died. All had recently handled carcasses of livestock that died suddenly. During July, a bull in the same community died suddenly. A skin lesion from the deceased person and a blood sample from the bull tested positive by PCR for Bacillus anthracis. The aim of this investigation was to establish the scope of the problem, identify exposures associated with illness, and recommend evidence-based control measures. Methods: We defined a probable case as acute onset of a papulo-vesicular skin lesion subsequently forming an eschar in a resident of Arua District during January 2015–August 2017. A confirmed case was a probable case with a skin sample testing positive by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for B. anthracis . We identified cases by medical record review and active community search. In a case-control study, we compared exposures between case-patients and frequency- and village-matched asymptomatic controls. We interviewed key animal health staff to learn about livestock deaths. Results: We identified 68 case-patients (67 probable, 1 confirmed), and 2 deaths. Cases occurred throughout the three-year period, peaking during dry seasons. All cases occurred following sudden livestock deaths in the villages. Case-patients came from two neighboring sub-counties: Rigbo (attack rate (AR)=20.1/10,000 population) and Rhino Camp (AR=2.1/10,000). Males (AR=17/100,000) were more affected than females (AR=0.52/100,000). Persons aged 30-39 years (AR=26/100,000 population) were most affected. Among all cases and 136 controls, skinning (OR M-H =5.0, 95%CI: 2.3–11), butchering (OR M-H =22, 95%CI: 5.5–89), and carrying the carcass of livestock that died suddenly (OR M-H =6.9, 95%CI: 3.0–16) were associated with illness. Conclusions: Exposure to carcasses of animals that died suddenly was a likely risk factor for cutaneous anthrax in Arua District during 2015-2017. We recommend public education about signs and symptoms of anthrax, prompt treatment of illness following exposure to animals that died suddenly, and safe disposal of the carcasses. In addition, the anthrax burden in livestock should be investigated to inform the cost-effectiveness of livestock vaccination.

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“…Although a large number of suspect cases were unconfirmed, the laboratory confirmation of anthrax from a dead bull and a human in the same community as the other suspect case-patients strongly suggests that suspect cases were indeed anthrax. Clinical characteristics of case-patients were also characteristic of cutaneous anthrax.Handling carcasses of animals with suspected and confirmed anthrax has previously been established as a risk factor for cutaneous anthrax[11][12][13] [14][15][16]. The location of the black eschars for most case-patients -on the hands and back -has also been observed in other studies demonstrating livestock-human transmission of anthrax[11], and is likely related to animal carcasses being carried over the shoulder.…”

mentioning

confidence: 84%

Cutaneous anthrax associated with handling carcasses of animals that died suddenly of unknown cause: Arua District, Uganda, January 2015–August 2017

Aceng

Ario²,

Alitubeera³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Anthrax is a vaccine-preventable disease that can be transmitted to humans from infected animals. During May–June 2017, three persons with suspected cutaneous anthrax were reported in Arua District, Uganda; one died. All had recently handled carcasses of livestock that died suddenly. During July, a bull in the same community died suddenly. A skin lesion from the deceased person and a blood sample from the bull tested positive by PCR for Bacillus anthracis. The aim of this investigation was to establish the scope of the problem, identify exposures associated with illness, and recommend evidence-based control measures.Methods We defined a probable case as acute onset of a papulo-vesicular skin lesion subsequently forming an eschar in a resident of Arua District during January 2015–August 2017. A confirmed case was a probable case with a skin sample testing positive by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for B. anthracis . We identified cases by medical record review and active community search. In a case-control study, we compared exposures between case-patients and frequency- and village-matched asymptomatic controls. We interviewed key animal health staff to learn about livestock deaths.Results We identified 68 case-patients (67 probable, one confirmed), and two deaths. Cases occurred throughout the three-year period, peaking during dry seasons. All cases occurred following sudden livestock deaths in the villages. Case-patients came from two neighboring sub-counties: Rigbo (attack rate (AR)=20.1/10,000 population) and Rhino Camp (AR=2.1/10,000). Males (AR=17/100,000) were more affected than females (AR=0.52/100,000). Persons aged 30-39 years (AR=26/100,000 population) were most affected. Among all cases and 136 controls, skinning (OR M-H =5.0, 95%CI: 2.3–11), butchering (OR M-H =22, 95%CI: 5.5–89), and carrying the carcass of livestock that died suddenly (OR M-H =6.9, 95%CI: 3.0–16) were associated with illness.Conclusions Exposure to carcasses of animals that died suddenly was a risk factor for cutaneous anthrax in Arua District during 2015-2017. We recommended public education about signs and symptoms of anthrax, prompt treatment of illness following exposure to animals that died suddenly, and safe disposal of carcasses of animals that die suddenly. In addition, the anthrax burden in livestock should be investigated to inform the cost-effectiveness of livestock vaccination.

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

Cited by 35 publications

References 11 publications

Prevalence, diagnosis, management and control of important diseases of ruminants with special reference to indian scenario

Prevalence, diagnosis, management and control of important diseases of ruminants with special reference to indian scenario

Cutaneous anthrax associated with handling carcasses of animals that died suddenly of unknown cause: Arua District, Uganda, January 2015–August 2017

Cutaneous anthrax associated with handling carcasses of animals that died suddenly of unknown cause: Arua District, Uganda, January 2015–August 2017

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