Abstract
This article describes Bacillus anthracis strains isolated during an outbreak of anthrax on the Yamal Peninsula in the summer of 2016 and independently in Yakutia in 2015. A common feature of these strains is their conservation in permafrost, from which they were extracted either due to the thawing of permafrost (Yamal strains) or as the result of paleontological excavations (Yakut strains). All strains isolated on the Yamal share an identical genotype belonging to lineage B.Br.001/002, pointing to a common source of infection in a territory over 250 km in length. In contrast, during the excavations in Yakutia, three genetically different strains were recovered from a single pit. One strain belongs to B.Br.001/002, and whole genome sequence analysis showed that it is most closely related to the Yamal strains in spite of the remoteness of Yamal from Yakutia. The two other strains contribute to two different branches of A.Br.008/011, one of the remarkable polytomies described so far in the B. anthracis species. The geographic distribution of the strains belonging to A.Br.008/011 is suggesting that the polytomy emerged in the thirteenth century, in combination with the constitution of a unified Mongol empire extending from China to Eastern Europe. We propose an evolutionary model for B. anthracis recent evolution in which the B lineage spread throughout Eurasia and was subsequently replaced by the A lineage except in some geographically isolated areas.
Highlights
The etiological agent of the anthrax disease is the gram-positive bacterium Bacillus anthracis
The presence of large territories hosting populations of wild and domestic ungulates creates a favorable context for disease outbreaks of epizootics, and the low human population density in most parts of the country makes it difficult to conduct anti-epidemiс measures, and to correctly account for anthrax animal burial sites
Past animal burial sites are often not documented and occasionally corpses were not buried. These burial grounds, and entire territories, where previously epizootics took place, may become involved in increased economic activities, which, given the potentially high preservation of B. anthracis spores in a cold environment, could lead to new outbreaks of the disease [22]
Summary
The etiological agent of the anthrax disease is the gram-positive bacterium Bacillus anthracis. High preservation of spores explains that even in regions where this disease has not been observed for decades, disease outbreaks are possible, leading to significant economic damage, the mass mortality of livestock, and human victims. The presence of large territories hosting populations of wild and domestic ungulates creates a favorable context for disease outbreaks of epizootics, and the low human population density in most parts of the country makes it difficult to conduct anti-epidemiс measures, and to correctly account for anthrax animal burial sites. Past animal burial sites are often not documented and occasionally corpses were not buried These burial grounds, and entire territories, where previously epizootics took place, may become involved in increased economic activities, which, given the potentially high preservation of B. anthracis spores in a cold environment, could lead to new outbreaks of the disease [22]. Of particular interest in this regard is the tundra zone of Russia, located between 55 and 68 degrees north latitude
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