Screening for anthrax occurrence in soil of flooded rural areas in Poland after rainfalls in spring 2010

[b]Introduction and objective[/b]. Anthrax spores remain viable and infectious in soil for decades. Flood water can percolate towards the surface the spores buried in soil. Moreover, the flood water might transport spores to areas previously unaffected. After the water recedes the spores located...

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Main Authors: Aleksandra A. Zasada, Kamila Formińska, Anna Ogrodnik, Rafał Gierczyński, Marek Jagielski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Rural Health 2014-09-01
Series:Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.indexcopernicus.com/fulltxt.php?ICID=1120584
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author Aleksandra A. Zasada
Kamila Formińska
Anna Ogrodnik
Rafał Gierczyński
Marek Jagielski
author_facet Aleksandra A. Zasada
Kamila Formińska
Anna Ogrodnik
Rafał Gierczyński
Marek Jagielski
author_sort Aleksandra A. Zasada
collection DOAJ
description [b]Introduction and objective[/b]. Anthrax spores remain viable and infectious in soil for decades. Flood water can percolate towards the surface the spores buried in soil. Moreover, the flood water might transport spores to areas previously unaffected. After the water recedes the spores located on the surface of the ground can be consumed by grazing animals and cause outbreaks of anthrax. [b]Materials and method[/b]. Soil samples were collected in areas of Poland most affected by floods in 2010 (Lubelskie, Świętokrzyskie, Podkarpackie and Mazowieckie provinces). After heating with the aim to kill vegetative forms of bacteria, the samples were cultured on PLET agar and the resulted colonies were investigated in terms of motility and presence of anthrax specific chromosomal (SG-749, plcR) and plasmid markers (capB, pagA). [b]Results.[/b] In total, 424 spore-forming, aerobically growing isolates were collected from the tested soil samples. Eighty-nine of them were non-motile. All the isolates were negative in PCR for anthrax specific chromosomal and plasmid markers. Conclusions. Spores of [i]B. anthracis[/i] that could be related to risk of anthrax outbreaks were not detected in soil samples tested in this study. The negative results presented may not be proof that Poland is country free of anthrax. The results, however, may suggest a relatively low risk of anthrax outbreaks being triggered in the sampled areas
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spelling doaj.art-7a3a5caf926c43559eab3e9f107d9cab2022-12-22T03:28:55ZengInstitute of Rural HealthAnnals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine1232-19661898-22632014-09-0121875194460463Screening for anthrax occurrence in soil of flooded rural areas in Poland after rainfalls in spring 2010Aleksandra A. Zasada0Kamila Formińska1Anna Ogrodnik2Rafał Gierczyński3Marek Jagielski4National Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene, Department of Bacteriology, Warsaw, PolandNational Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene, Department of Bacteriology, Warsaw, PolandNational Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene, Department of Bacteriology, Warsaw, PolandNational Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene, Department of Bacteriology, Warsaw, PolandNational Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene, Department of Bacteriology, Warsaw, Poland[b]Introduction and objective[/b]. Anthrax spores remain viable and infectious in soil for decades. Flood water can percolate towards the surface the spores buried in soil. Moreover, the flood water might transport spores to areas previously unaffected. After the water recedes the spores located on the surface of the ground can be consumed by grazing animals and cause outbreaks of anthrax. [b]Materials and method[/b]. Soil samples were collected in areas of Poland most affected by floods in 2010 (Lubelskie, Świętokrzyskie, Podkarpackie and Mazowieckie provinces). After heating with the aim to kill vegetative forms of bacteria, the samples were cultured on PLET agar and the resulted colonies were investigated in terms of motility and presence of anthrax specific chromosomal (SG-749, plcR) and plasmid markers (capB, pagA). [b]Results.[/b] In total, 424 spore-forming, aerobically growing isolates were collected from the tested soil samples. Eighty-nine of them were non-motile. All the isolates were negative in PCR for anthrax specific chromosomal and plasmid markers. Conclusions. Spores of [i]B. anthracis[/i] that could be related to risk of anthrax outbreaks were not detected in soil samples tested in this study. The negative results presented may not be proof that Poland is country free of anthrax. The results, however, may suggest a relatively low risk of anthrax outbreaks being triggered in the sampled areashttp://journals.indexcopernicus.com/fulltxt.php?ICID=1120584flooding;Spores;Anthrax
spellingShingle Aleksandra A. Zasada
Kamila Formińska
Anna Ogrodnik
Rafał Gierczyński
Marek Jagielski
Screening for anthrax occurrence in soil of flooded rural areas in Poland after rainfalls in spring 2010
Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine
flooding;Spores;Anthrax
title Screening for anthrax occurrence in soil of flooded rural areas in Poland after rainfalls in spring 2010
title_full Screening for anthrax occurrence in soil of flooded rural areas in Poland after rainfalls in spring 2010
title_fullStr Screening for anthrax occurrence in soil of flooded rural areas in Poland after rainfalls in spring 2010
title_full_unstemmed Screening for anthrax occurrence in soil of flooded rural areas in Poland after rainfalls in spring 2010
title_short Screening for anthrax occurrence in soil of flooded rural areas in Poland after rainfalls in spring 2010
title_sort screening for anthrax occurrence in soil of flooded rural areas in poland after rainfalls in spring 2010
topic flooding;Spores;Anthrax
url http://journals.indexcopernicus.com/fulltxt.php?ICID=1120584
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