Evidence of local persistence of human anthrax in the country of georgia associated with environmental and anthropogenic factors.
BACKGROUND: Anthrax is a soil-borne disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis and is considered a neglected zoonosis. In the country of Georgia, recent reports have indicated an increase in the incidence of human anthrax. Identifying sub-national areas of increased risk may help direct appr...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:885962348f0f41b5b14f52400de4bc59 2023-05-15T15:09:50+02:00 Evidence of local persistence of human anthrax in the country of georgia associated with environmental and anthropogenic factors. Ian T Kracalik Lile Malania Nikoloz Tsertsvadze Julietta Manvelyan Lela Bakanidze Paata Imnadze Shota Tsanava Jason K Blackburn 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002388 https://doaj.org/article/885962348f0f41b5b14f52400de4bc59 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3764226?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0002388 https://doaj.org/article/885962348f0f41b5b14f52400de4bc59 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 7, Iss 9, p e2388 (2013) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002388 2022-12-31T00:49:30Z BACKGROUND: Anthrax is a soil-borne disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis and is considered a neglected zoonosis. In the country of Georgia, recent reports have indicated an increase in the incidence of human anthrax. Identifying sub-national areas of increased risk may help direct appropriate public health control measures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the spatial distribution of human anthrax and identify environmental/anthropogenic factors associated with persistent clusters. METHODS/FINDINGS: A database of human cutaneous anthrax in Georgia during the period 2000-2009 was constructed using a geographic information system (GIS) with case data recorded to the community location. The spatial scan statistic was used to identify persistence of human cutaneous anthrax. Risk factors related to clusters of persistence were modeled using a multivariate logistic regression. Areas of persistence were identified in the southeastern part of the country. Results indicated that the persistence of human cutaneous anthrax showed a strong positive association with soil pH and urban areas. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Anthrax represents a persistent threat to public and veterinary health in Georgia. The findings here showed that the local level heterogeneity in the persistence of human cutaneous anthrax necessitates directed interventions to mitigate the disease. High risk areas identified in this study can be targeted for public health control measures such as farmer education and livestock vaccination campaigns. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 7 9 e2388 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Ian T Kracalik Lile Malania Nikoloz Tsertsvadze Julietta Manvelyan Lela Bakanidze Paata Imnadze Shota Tsanava Jason K Blackburn Evidence of local persistence of human anthrax in the country of georgia associated with environmental and anthropogenic factors. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
BACKGROUND: Anthrax is a soil-borne disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis and is considered a neglected zoonosis. In the country of Georgia, recent reports have indicated an increase in the incidence of human anthrax. Identifying sub-national areas of increased risk may help direct appropriate public health control measures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the spatial distribution of human anthrax and identify environmental/anthropogenic factors associated with persistent clusters. METHODS/FINDINGS: A database of human cutaneous anthrax in Georgia during the period 2000-2009 was constructed using a geographic information system (GIS) with case data recorded to the community location. The spatial scan statistic was used to identify persistence of human cutaneous anthrax. Risk factors related to clusters of persistence were modeled using a multivariate logistic regression. Areas of persistence were identified in the southeastern part of the country. Results indicated that the persistence of human cutaneous anthrax showed a strong positive association with soil pH and urban areas. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Anthrax represents a persistent threat to public and veterinary health in Georgia. The findings here showed that the local level heterogeneity in the persistence of human cutaneous anthrax necessitates directed interventions to mitigate the disease. High risk areas identified in this study can be targeted for public health control measures such as farmer education and livestock vaccination campaigns. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ian T Kracalik Lile Malania Nikoloz Tsertsvadze Julietta Manvelyan Lela Bakanidze Paata Imnadze Shota Tsanava Jason K Blackburn |
author_facet |
Ian T Kracalik Lile Malania Nikoloz Tsertsvadze Julietta Manvelyan Lela Bakanidze Paata Imnadze Shota Tsanava Jason K Blackburn |
author_sort |
Ian T Kracalik |
title |
Evidence of local persistence of human anthrax in the country of georgia associated with environmental and anthropogenic factors. |
title_short |
Evidence of local persistence of human anthrax in the country of georgia associated with environmental and anthropogenic factors. |
title_full |
Evidence of local persistence of human anthrax in the country of georgia associated with environmental and anthropogenic factors. |
title_fullStr |
Evidence of local persistence of human anthrax in the country of georgia associated with environmental and anthropogenic factors. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence of local persistence of human anthrax in the country of georgia associated with environmental and anthropogenic factors. |
title_sort |
evidence of local persistence of human anthrax in the country of georgia associated with environmental and anthropogenic factors. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002388 https://doaj.org/article/885962348f0f41b5b14f52400de4bc59 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 7, Iss 9, p e2388 (2013) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3764226?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0002388 https://doaj.org/article/885962348f0f41b5b14f52400de4bc59 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0002388 |
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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
e2388 |
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