Use of Canonical Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (CanSNPs) to characterize Bacillus anthracis outbreak strains in Zambia between 1990 and 2014

Antonio Fasanella; Luigina Serrecchia; Alexandra Chiaverini; Giuliano Garofolo; Geoffrey M Muuka; Lucas Mwambazi

doi:10.7717/peerj.5270

Use of Canonical Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (CanSNPs) to characterize Bacillus anthracis outbreak strains in Zambia between 1990 and 2014

PeerJ. 2018 Jul 26:6:e5270. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5270. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Antonio Fasanella¹, Luigina Serrecchia¹, Alexandra Chiaverini², Giuliano Garofolo^#², Geoffrey M Muuka^#³, Lucas Mwambazi³

Affiliations

¹ Anthrax Reference Institute of Italy, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata, Foggia, Italy.
² Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy.
³ Bacteriology Section, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Veterinary Services Department, Central Veterinary Research Institute, Lusaka, Zambia.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Anthrax caused by Bacillus anthracis is an old and neglected zoonosis that continues to raise concerns in Southern Africa. In this study, twenty (20) slides with suspected isolates of B. anthracis from anthrax cases between 1990 and 2014 and two (2) from that of a vaccine strain were analysed using MLVA with 15 VNTRs and CanSNPs test. The results from the CanSNPs indicate that all anthrax outbreaks in Zambia between 1990 and 2014 were caused by the lineage A.Br.005/006 of the clade A. This indicates a common ancestral origin of the B. anthracis circulating in the country. This data has described several environmental, wildlife, livestock and human cases that occurred in a 24 year period, from the major areas where anthrax is endemic. The molecular characterization of isolates from anthrax outbreaks in Zambia has revealed a genetic structure in agreement with previous studies from neighbouring countries. Further studies are needed to elucidate how to better manage anthrax outbreaks and define the risk maps of Zambia.

Keywords: Anthrax; Bacillus anthracis; CanSNPs; Outbreaks; Zambia.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by members of the OIE initiative Enhanced Research for Africa Network (ERFAN). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.