The epidemiological investigation and control of an anthrax outbreak in a village in Central Anatolia, Turkey

Demiraslan, Hayati; Borlu, Arda; Şahin, Serkan; Büyük, Fatih; Karadag, Yunus; Doğanay, Mehmet; Şahin, Mitat

doi:10.1080/20477724.2017.1296619

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Animal to animal transmission appears to be a rare event and when it does occur, it is believed to be mediated by biting flies [ 18 ]. Humans normally contract anthrax directly or indirectly from animals or animal products [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Naturally occurring anthrax presents in one of three clinical forms: cutaneous, ingestional (oropharyngeal and gastrointestinal), and inhalational [ 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Exposure to Naturally Occurring Bacillus anthracis in the Kars Region of Eastern Türkiye

Buyuk,

Dyson,

Laws

et al. 2024

Microorganisms

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Environmental contamination with Bacillus anthracis spores poses uncertain threats to human health. We undertook a study to determine whether inhabitants of the anthrax-endemic region of Kars in eastern Türkiye could develop immune responses to anthrax toxins without recognised clinical infection. We measured anti-PA and anti-LF IgG antibody concentrations by ELISA in serum from 279 volunteers, 105 of whom had previously diagnosed anthrax infection (100 cutaneous, 5 gastrointestinal). Of the 174 without history of infection, 72 had prior contact with anthrax-contaminated material. Individuals were classified according to demographic parameters, daily working environment, and residence type. All villages in this study had recorded previous animal or human anthrax cases. Stepwise regression analyses showed that prior clinical infection correlated strongly with concentrations at the upper end of the ranges observed for both antibodies. For anti-PA, being a butcher and duration of continuous exposure risk correlated with high concentrations, while being a veterinarian or shepherd, time since infection, and town residence correlated with low concentrations. For anti-LF, village residence correlated with high concentrations, while infection limited to fingers or thumbs correlated with low concentrations. Linear discriminant analysis identified antibody concentration profiles associated with known prior infection. Profiles least typical of prior infection were observed in urban dwellers with known previous infection and in veterinarians without history of infection. Four individuals without history of infection (two butchers, two rural dwellers) had profiles suggesting unrecognised prior infection. Healthy humans therefore appear able to tolerate low-level exposure to environmental B. anthracis spores without ill effect, but it remains to be determined whether this exposure is protective. These findings have implications for authorities tasked with reducing the risk posed to human health by spore-contaminated materials and environments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Exposure to Naturally Occurring Bacillus anthracis in the Kars Region of Eastern Türkiye

Buyuk,

Dyson,

Laws

et al. 2024

Microorganisms

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“…For example the Turkish Ministry of Health reported a total of 26,954 human anthrax cases for the period between 1960 and 2005 1 , 2 . Turkey tackles this health challenge by employing strict animal vaccination programs, infection reporting systems and outbreak-associated research activities 3 – 5 . In this country, diverse isolates of Bacillus anthracis , the endospore-forming bacterium that causes anthrax, have been sampled from infected humans, animals and from the environment in the past 6 – 8 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The identification of novel single nucleotide polymorphisms to assist in mapping the spread of Bacillus anthracis across the Southern Caucasus

Şahin

Büyük

Baillie

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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Anthrax is common as a zoonotic disease in the southern Caucasus area including parts of Turkey and Georgia. In this region, population genetics of the etiological agent Bacillus anthracis comprises, where known, the major canonical single nucleotide polymorphism (canSNP) groups A.Br.Aust94 and A.Br.008/009 of the pathogen’s global phylogeny, respectively. Previously, isolates of B. anthracis from Turkey have been genotyped predominantly by multi locus variable number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) or canSNP typing. While whole genome sequencing is the future gold standard, it is currently still costly. For that reason we were interested in identifying novel SNPs which could assist in further distinguishing closely related isolates using low cost assay platforms. In this study we sequenced the genomes of seven B. anthracis strains collected from the Kars province of Eastern Anatolia in Turkey and discovered new SNPs which allowed us to assign these and other geographically related strains to three novel branches of the major A-branch canSNP-group (A.Br.) Aust94. These new branches were named Kafkas-Geo 1–3 and comprised isolates from the Kars region and the neighboring republic of Georgia suggesting a common ancestry. The novel SNPs identified in this study connect the population genetics of B. anthracis in the South Caucasus and Turkey and will likely assist efforts to map the spread of the pathogen across this region.

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The epidemiological investigation and control of an anthrax outbreak in a village in Central Anatolia, Turkey

Cited by 2 publications

References 14 publications

Human Exposure to Naturally Occurring Bacillus anthracis in the Kars Region of Eastern Türkiye

Human Exposure to Naturally Occurring Bacillus anthracis in the Kars Region of Eastern Türkiye

The identification of novel single nucleotide polymorphisms to assist in mapping the spread of Bacillus anthracis across the Southern Caucasus

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