Twenty years ago this month, letters containing Bacillus anthracis spores were mailed to various politicians and news media offices in the US, resulting in illness, death, and a widespread fear that transformed anthrax from an agricultural disease or occupational hazard into a potential weapon of bioterrorism. In this episode, we explore the many dimensions of anthrax, from the different ways B. anthracis can cause disease to the incredibly long and varied history of the pathogen, a history of which bioterrorism is only a very recent part. Adding to anthrax’s multifaceted nature is the fact that B. anthracis is an environmental pathogen, one that can greatly impact livestock and wild animals, which requires collaboration across fields to effectively identify and control anthrax outbreaks. To help us explore this pathogen from a One Health perspective, we were so thrilled to chat with Dr. Johanna Salzer, Veterinary Medical Officer in the Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who filled us in on the veterinary side of anthrax, and Morgan Walker, spatial epidemiologist at the University of Florida, who talked us through the environmental factors that affect B. anthracis distribution and emergence. Tune in for a much more than surface-level look at this spore-forming pathogen.
| History | Biology |
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| Goel, Ajay Kumar. “Anthrax: a disease of biowarfare and public health importance.” World Journal of Clinical Cases: WJCC 3.1 (2015): 20. | Muturi, M., Gachohi, J., Mwatondo, A., Lekolool, I., Gakuya, F., Bett, A., Osoro, E., Bitek, A., Thumbi, S. M., Munyua, P., Oyas, H., Njagi, O. N., Bett, B., & Njenga, M. K. (2018). Recurrent Anthrax Outbreaks in Humans, Livestock, and Wildlife in the Same Locality, Kenya, 2014-2017. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 99(4), 833–839. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.18-0224 |
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| Hoffmann, Constanze, et al. “Persistent anthrax as a major driver of wildlife mortality in a tropical rainforest.” Nature 548.7665 (2017): 82-86. | Bower, W. A., Schiffer, J., Atmar, R. L., Keitel, W. A., Friedlander, A. M., Liu, L., Yu, Y., Stephens, D. S., Quinn, C. P., Hendricks, K., & ACIP Anthrax Vaccine Work Group (2019). Use of Anthrax Vaccine in the United States: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, 2019. MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports, 68(4), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.rr6804a1 |
| Keim, Paul, et al. “Anthrax molecular epidemiology and forensics: using the appropriate marker for different evolutionary scales.” Infection, Genetics and Evolution 4.3 (2004): 205-213. | Hoffmann, C., Zimmermann, F., Biek, R., Kuehl, H., Nowak, K., Mundry, R., Agbor, A., Angedakin, S., Arandjelovic, M., Blankenburg, A., Brazolla, G., Corogenes, K., Couacy-Hymann, E., Deschner, T., Dieguez, P., Dierks, K., Düx, A., Dupke, S., Eshuis, H., Formenty, P., … Leendertz, F. H. (2017). Persistent anthrax as a major driver of wildlife mortality in a tropical rainforest. Nature, 548(7665), 82–86. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23309 |
| Pilo, Paola, and Joachim Frey. “Pathogenicity, population genetics and dissemination of Bacillus anthracis.” Infection, genetics and evolution 64 (2018): 115-125. | Carlson, C. J., Kracalik, I. T., Ross, N., Alexander, K. A., Hugh-Jones, M. E., Fegan, M., Elkin, B. T., Epp, T., Shury, T. K., Zhang, W., Bagirova, M., Getz, W. M., & Blackburn, J. K. (2019). The global distribution of Bacillus anthracis and associated anthrax risk to humans, livestock and wildlife. Nature microbiology, 4(8), 1337–1343. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0435-4 |
| Priest, Fergus G., et al. “Population structure and evolution of the Bacillus cereus group.” Journal of bacteriology 186.23 (2004): 7959-7970. | Walker, M.A., Uribasterra, M., Asher, V., Ponciano, J.M., Getz, W.M., Ryan, S.J. and Blackburn, J.K., 2020. Ungulate use of locally infectious zones in a re-emerging anthrax risk area. Royal Society open science, 7(10), p.200246. |
| Read, Timothy D., et al. “The genome sequence of Bacillus anthracis Ames and comparison to closely related bacteria.” Nature 423.6935 (2003): 81-86. | |
| Schwartz, Maxime. “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: a short history of anthrax.” Molecular aspects of medicine 30.6 (2009): 347-355. | |
| Turner, Wendy C., et al. “Fatal attraction: vegetation responses to nutrient inputs attract herbivores to infectious anthrax carcass sites.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281.1795 (2014): 20141785. | |
| Van Ert, Matthew N., et al. “Global genetic population structure of Bacillus anthracis.” PloS one 2.5 (2007): e461. | |
| Walsh, Michael G., Allard W. de Smalen, and Siobhan M. Mor. “Climatic influence on anthrax suitability in warming northern latitudes.” Scientific reports 8.1 (2018): 1-9. | |
| Firsthand Account: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14785359 |
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