Abstract
Soil geochemical data from sample sites in counties that reported occurrences of anthrax in wildlife and livestock since 2000 were evaluated against counties within the same states (MN, MT, ND, NV, OR, SD and TX) that did not report occurrences. These data identified the elements, calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), phosphorus (P) and strontium (Sr), as having statistically significant differences in concentrations between county type (anthrax occurrence versus no occurrence). Tentative threshold values of the lowest concentrations of each of these elements (Ca = 0.43 wt %, Mn = 142 mg/kg, P = 180 mg/kg and Sr = 51 mg/kg) and average concentrations (Ca = 1.3 wt %, Mn = 463 mg/kg, P = 580 mg/kg and Sr = 170 mg/kg) were identified from anthrax-positive counties as prospective investigative tools in determining whether an outbreak had “potential” or was “likely” at any given geographic location in the contiguous United States.
Highlights
B. anthracis infections in wildlife and livestock have been recognized as a critically important disease in the United States for over 200 years
That had reported anthrax outbreaks or cases to 89 sites from 27 counties that did not report outbreaks or cases resulted in the identification of seven elements with statistically significant differences in their respective concentrations (Table 2, all counties, Column 2)
With the exception of Nb and Sr, the total state average of elemental concentrations was higher in anthrax-positive counties
Summary
B. anthracis infections in wildlife and livestock have been recognized as a critically important disease in the United States for over 200 years. Historical data on environmental, weather/climate and geographical factors that influence the occurrence of these infections are well known and include;. Two separate groups of B. anthracis, the “Ames” and Western North America (WNA) clades, are responsible for wildlife and livestock anthrax outbreaks in North America. Given the geographic restriction of most annually-occurring cases and outbreaks of anthrax in the contiguous United States, geochemical data obtained by the U.S Geological Survey’s (USGS) “North. Protection Agency (EPA) to determine which elements may influence the background distribution of this pathogen These data may help decision makers better prepare for and mitigate potential or actual outbreak events and provide an accurate graphical representation of areas within the contiguous United.
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