Persistence of Category A Select Agents in the Environment

Sinclair, Ryan; Boone, Stephanie A.; Greenberg, David; Keim, Paul; Gerba, Charles P.

doi:10.1128/aem.02167-07

Cited by 140 publications

(135 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Although smallpox has been eradicated (5), orthopoxviruses (OPXVs), such as variola virus (VARV) (6,32), monkeypox virus (MPXV) (3,10,57), vaccinia virus (VACV) (4,76), and others (53,68,77), are a continuing public health concern (61,67). Due to cellular and humoral protective effects (7,15,16,46,73), the traditional live VACV-based smallpox vaccines provide cross-protection against multiple OPXV threats ( 48).…”

Section: Or 10mentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishment of the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) as a Novel Animal Model for Comparing Smallpox Vaccines Administered Preexposure in both High- and Low-Dose Monkeypox Virus Challenges

Keckler

Carroll

Gallardo-Romero

et al. 2011

J Virol

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The 2003 monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreak and subsequent laboratory studies demonstrated that the black-tailed prairie dog is susceptible to MPXV infection and that the ensuing rash illness is similar to human systemic orthopoxvirus (OPXV) infection, including a 7-to 9-day incubation period and, likely, in some cases a respiratory route of infection; these features distinguish this model from others. The need for safe and efficacious vaccines for OPVX in areas where it is endemic or epidemic is important to protect an increasingly OPXV-naïve population. In this study, we tested current and investigational smallpox vaccines for safety, induction of anti-OPXV antibodies, and protection against mortality and morbidity in two MPXV challenges. Although smallpox has been eradicated (5), orthopoxviruses (OPXVs), such as variola virus (VARV) (6, 32), monkeypox virus (MPXV) (3, 10, 57), vaccinia virus (VACV) (4, 76), and others (53,68,77), are a continuing public health concern (61, 67). Due to cellular and humoral protective effects (7,15,16,46,73), the traditional live VACV-based smallpox vaccines provide cross-protection against multiple OPXV threats (48). Unfortunately, the cessation of routine vaccination (37) has left much of the global population fully susceptible to OPXV infections (34), and the adverse effects of first-and secondgeneration vaccines (78) coupled with increases in the global immunocompromised population (59) underline the need for continued development and testing of safer smallpox vaccines (30).Testing of smallpox vaccines requires the development of relevant animal models. Current smallpox vaccine testing animal models include ectromelia virus (ECTV) infection of mice (75), VACV infection of mice (63), rabbitpox virus (RPXV) and VACV infection of rabbits (1, 18), VARV and MPXV infection of nonhuman primates (NHP) (13,19,21,25,26,31), and others (65, 74). Limitations of current models include abbreviated disease incubation periods and/or differences from human systemic orthopoxvirus disease presentation and progression The validation of alternative animal models for smallpox vaccine testing is an ongoing effort (2, 19, 39).The MPXV outbreak in the United States in 2003 (3) identified a potential alternative model as it established that MPXV can be transmitted to black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) (42). Investigations of the MPXV outbreak and epidemiological, immunological, and pathological studies of prairie dogs infected with MPXV (8,12,27,28,35,38,43,57,58,64,69,74,80) determined that this rodent species can manifest MPXV infection similar to human systemic OPXV disease. This disease model shares a respiratory route of infection, similar disease incubation period, and similar rash illness (20,29,38,42,80) with human MPXV and VARV infections, thus making it a potentially useful small animal model for testing vaccines and therapeutics (29,70). A particular strength of this model is its 7-to 9-day incubation period, which is more similar to that seen in human disease than many other a...

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Section: Or 10mentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishment of the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) as a Novel Animal Model for Comparing Smallpox Vaccines Administered Preexposure in both High- and Low-Dose Monkeypox Virus Challenges

Keckler

Carroll

Gallardo-Romero

et al. 2011

J Virol

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“…B. thuringiensis has been found to persist on vegetation for days in direct sunlight (10) to a year on spruce needles (22). One lab study recovered viable B. anthracis from canvas after 41 years (25), and another evaluated persistence on wood, laminate, aluminum, polyvinyl chloride, and other surfaces, and recovered viable B. anthracis for up to 987 days (4). Comparisons of these data to laboratory studies are not wholly appropriate since the transient nature of water and vegetation likely contributed to the inability to recover viable B. thuringiensis subsp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki in Urban Environments following Spraying

Cuyk

Deshpande

Hollander

et al. 2011

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki is applied extensively in North America to control the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar. Since B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki shares many physical and biological properties with Bacillus anthracis, it is a reasonable surrogate for biodefense studies. A key question in biodefense is how long a biothreat agent will persist in the environment. There is some information in the literature on the persistence of Bacillus anthracis in laboratories and historical testing areas and for Bacillus thuringiensis in agricultural settings, but there is no information on the persistence of Bacillus spp. in the type of environment that would be encountered in a city or on a military installation. Since it is not feasible to release B. anthracis in a developed area, the controlled release of B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki for pest control was used to gain insight into the potential persistence of Bacillus spp. in outdoor urban environments. Persistence was evaluated in two locations: Fairfax County, VA, and Seattle, WA. Environmental samples were collected from multiple matrices and evaluated for the presence of viable B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki at times ranging from less than 1 day to 4 years after spraying. Real-time PCR and culture were used for analysis. B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki was found to persist in urban environments for at least 4 years. It was most frequently detected in soils and less frequently detected in wipes, grass, foliage, and water. The collective results indicate that certain species of Bacillus may persist for years following their dispersal in urban environments.

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“…Anthrax caused by inhalation is rare, but the spores of B. anthracis can easily be disseminated in aerosols. The spores are very stable and persist in the environment especially in soil for many years or even decades (35). In the fall of 2001 an attack with "anthrax letters" resulted in 22 cases including five deaths in the USA.…”

Section: Select Agents 61 Anthrax Bacillus (B) Anthracis Is the Caumentioning

confidence: 99%

Forensic Microbiology

Tomaso¹,

Neubauer²

2011

Forensic Medicine - From Old Problems to New Challenges

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Persistence of Category A Select Agents in the Environment

Cited by 140 publications

References 77 publications

Establishment of the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) as a Novel Animal Model for Comparing Smallpox Vaccines Administered Preexposure in both High- and Low-Dose Monkeypox Virus Challenges

Establishment of the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) as a Novel Animal Model for Comparing Smallpox Vaccines Administered Preexposure in both High- and Low-Dose Monkeypox Virus Challenges

Persistence of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki in Urban Environments following Spraying

Forensic Microbiology

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