title: Whole-genome sequencing investigation of animal-skin-drum-associated UK anthrax cases reveals evidence of mixed populations and relatedness to a US case.
abstract: There have been two anthrax cases affecting people that played and/or made animal-skin drums in the UK during the last 10 years, with single fatal occurrences in Scotland in 2006 and London in 2008. Investigations by the Health Protection Agency (now Public Health England) employing multi-locus-variable number tandem repeat analysis had previously linked the clinical cases to spores associated with animal skins and drums the patients had been in contact with. In this study, whole-genome sequencing of 23Bacillus anthracisisolates harvested during the investigations was performed. High-quality draft assemblies of these genomes provided greater characterization of theB. anthracisstrains present and placed them all upon a new branch of the global phylogeny. Although closely related, the clinical isolates from the two events, and another isolated from a drum-skin-associated case in New York in 2006, were distinct from each other. Multiple distinct genotypes were found during both investigations, implying either multiple contamination events or a single heterogeneous contamination. One environmental isolate from the Scottish incident was more closely related to London isolates than to the other Scottish isolates. AsB. anthracisof this subgroup was present at both geographically and temporally distinct events, it may be more widespread at the source of contamination. All isolates were distinct from currently characterized West African strains, despite this being the likely origin of the drums and hides, therefore adding to our knowledge ofB. anthracisdiversity in the region.
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, Microbiology Services, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
authors.forename: Steven T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Pullan
authors.affiliation: Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Talima R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, Microbiology Services, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
authors.forename: Jennie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Latham
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, Microbiology Services, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, Microbiology Services, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Atkinson
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, Microbiology Services, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
authors.forename: Nigel J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Silman
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Chung K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Marston
authors.affiliation: Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Jason W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Sahl
authors.affiliation: Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Birdsell
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Special Pathogens Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Alex R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Hoffmaster
authors.affiliation: Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Keim
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, Microbiology Services, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vipond
keywords: UK; animal-hide; anthrax; phylogeography