Practical and effective diagnosis of animal anthrax in endemic low-resource settings.
Anthrax threatens human and animal health, and people's livelihoods in many rural communities in Africa and Asia. In these areas, anthrax surveillance is challenged by a lack of tools for on-site detection. Furthermore, cultural practices and infrastructure may affect sample availability and qu...
Published in: | PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6829cfacfa09410ca6c93dc41e3ef8b1 2023-05-15T15:15:01+02:00 Practical and effective diagnosis of animal anthrax in endemic low-resource settings. Olubunmi R Aminu Tiziana Lembo Ruth N Zadoks Roman Biek Suzanna Lewis Ireen Kiwelu Blandina T Mmbaga Deogratius Mshanga Gabriel Shirima Matt Denwood Taya L Forde 2020-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008655 https://doaj.org/article/6829cfacfa09410ca6c93dc41e3ef8b1 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008655 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0008655 https://doaj.org/article/6829cfacfa09410ca6c93dc41e3ef8b1 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 14, Iss 9, p e0008655 (2020) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008655 2022-12-31T07:49:42Z Anthrax threatens human and animal health, and people's livelihoods in many rural communities in Africa and Asia. In these areas, anthrax surveillance is challenged by a lack of tools for on-site detection. Furthermore, cultural practices and infrastructure may affect sample availability and quality. Practical yet accurate diagnostic solutions are greatly needed to quantify anthrax impacts. We validated microscopic and molecular methods for the detection of Bacillus anthracis in field-collected blood smears and identified alternative samples suitable for anthrax confirmation in the absence of blood smears. We investigated livestock mortalities suspected to be caused by anthrax in northern Tanzania. Field-prepared blood smears (n = 152) were tested by microscopy using four staining techniques as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by Bayesian latent class analysis. Median sensitivity (91%, CI 95% [84-96%]) and specificity (99%, CI 95% [96-100%]) of microscopy using azure B were comparable to those of the recommended standard, polychrome methylene blue, PMB (92%, CI 95% [84-97%] and 98%, CI 95% [95-100%], respectively), but azure B is more available and convenient. Other commonly-used stains performed poorly. Blood smears could be obtained for <50% of suspected anthrax cases due to local customs and conditions. However, PCR on DNA extracts from skin, which was almost always available, had high sensitivity and specificity (95%, CI 95% [90-98%] and 95%, CI 95% [87-99%], respectively), even after extended storage at ambient temperature. Azure B microscopy represents an accurate diagnostic test for animal anthrax that can be performed with basic laboratory infrastructure and in the field. When blood smears are unavailable, PCR using skin tissues provides a valuable alternative for confirmation. Our findings lead to a practical diagnostic approach for anthrax in low-resource settings that can support surveillance and control efforts for anthrax-endemic countries globally. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 14 9 e0008655 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Olubunmi R Aminu Tiziana Lembo Ruth N Zadoks Roman Biek Suzanna Lewis Ireen Kiwelu Blandina T Mmbaga Deogratius Mshanga Gabriel Shirima Matt Denwood Taya L Forde Practical and effective diagnosis of animal anthrax in endemic low-resource settings. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Anthrax threatens human and animal health, and people's livelihoods in many rural communities in Africa and Asia. In these areas, anthrax surveillance is challenged by a lack of tools for on-site detection. Furthermore, cultural practices and infrastructure may affect sample availability and quality. Practical yet accurate diagnostic solutions are greatly needed to quantify anthrax impacts. We validated microscopic and molecular methods for the detection of Bacillus anthracis in field-collected blood smears and identified alternative samples suitable for anthrax confirmation in the absence of blood smears. We investigated livestock mortalities suspected to be caused by anthrax in northern Tanzania. Field-prepared blood smears (n = 152) were tested by microscopy using four staining techniques as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by Bayesian latent class analysis. Median sensitivity (91%, CI 95% [84-96%]) and specificity (99%, CI 95% [96-100%]) of microscopy using azure B were comparable to those of the recommended standard, polychrome methylene blue, PMB (92%, CI 95% [84-97%] and 98%, CI 95% [95-100%], respectively), but azure B is more available and convenient. Other commonly-used stains performed poorly. Blood smears could be obtained for <50% of suspected anthrax cases due to local customs and conditions. However, PCR on DNA extracts from skin, which was almost always available, had high sensitivity and specificity (95%, CI 95% [90-98%] and 95%, CI 95% [87-99%], respectively), even after extended storage at ambient temperature. Azure B microscopy represents an accurate diagnostic test for animal anthrax that can be performed with basic laboratory infrastructure and in the field. When blood smears are unavailable, PCR using skin tissues provides a valuable alternative for confirmation. Our findings lead to a practical diagnostic approach for anthrax in low-resource settings that can support surveillance and control efforts for anthrax-endemic countries globally. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Olubunmi R Aminu Tiziana Lembo Ruth N Zadoks Roman Biek Suzanna Lewis Ireen Kiwelu Blandina T Mmbaga Deogratius Mshanga Gabriel Shirima Matt Denwood Taya L Forde |
author_facet |
Olubunmi R Aminu Tiziana Lembo Ruth N Zadoks Roman Biek Suzanna Lewis Ireen Kiwelu Blandina T Mmbaga Deogratius Mshanga Gabriel Shirima Matt Denwood Taya L Forde |
author_sort |
Olubunmi R Aminu |
title |
Practical and effective diagnosis of animal anthrax in endemic low-resource settings. |
title_short |
Practical and effective diagnosis of animal anthrax in endemic low-resource settings. |
title_full |
Practical and effective diagnosis of animal anthrax in endemic low-resource settings. |
title_fullStr |
Practical and effective diagnosis of animal anthrax in endemic low-resource settings. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Practical and effective diagnosis of animal anthrax in endemic low-resource settings. |
title_sort |
practical and effective diagnosis of animal anthrax in endemic low-resource settings. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008655 https://doaj.org/article/6829cfacfa09410ca6c93dc41e3ef8b1 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 14, Iss 9, p e0008655 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008655 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0008655 https://doaj.org/article/6829cfacfa09410ca6c93dc41e3ef8b1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008655 |
container_title |
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
e0008655 |
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