Emerging Infectious Disease ISSN: 1080-6059

Molecular Epidemiologic Investigation of an Anthrax Outbreak among Heroin Users, Europe

Erin P. Price¹, Meagan L. Seymour, Derek S. Sarovich¹, Jennie Latham, Spenser R. Wolken, Joanne Mason, Gemma Vincent, Kevin P. Drees, Stephen M. Beckstrom-Sternberg, Adam M. Phillippy, Sergey Koren, Richard T. Okinaka, Wai-Kwan Chung, James M. Schupp, David M. Wagner, Richard Vipond, Jeffrey T. Foster, Nicholas H. Bergman, James Burans, Talima Pearson, Tim Brooks, and Paul Keim

Author affiliations: Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA (E.P. Price, M.L. Seymour, D.S. Sarovich, S.R. Wolken, K.P. Drees, S.M. Beckstrom-Sternberg, R.T. Okinaka, W.-K. Chung, J.M. Schupp, D.M. Wagner, J.T. Foster, T. Pearson, P. Keim); Health Protection Agency, London, UK (J. Latham, J. Mason, G. Vincent, R. Vipond, T. Brooks); National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, Frederick, Maryland, USA (A.M. Phillippy, S. Koren, N. H. Bergman, J. Burans); and Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, USA (S.M. Beckstrom-Sternberg, J.M. Schupp, P. Keim)

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Figure

Phylogenetic location of the heroin Ba4599 genome on the global Bacillus anthracis phylogenetic tree (1). Ba4599 was isolated from a heroin user who died of anthrax at the beginning of the 2009–2010 European anthrax outbreak. Canonical single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing situated Ba4599 within the A.Br.008/011 clade of the Trans-Eurasian group (arrows). Closer examination of the boxed area (inset) revealed that Ba4599 was closely related to 2 isolates from Turkey, A0149 and A0264. Solid

Figure. . . Phylogenetic location of the heroin Ba4599 genome on the global Bacillus anthracis phylogenetic tree (1). Ba4599 was isolated from a heroin user who died of anthrax at the beginning of the 2009–2010 European anthrax outbreak. Canonical single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing situated Ba4599 within the A.Br.008/011 clade of the Trans-Eurasian group (arrows). Closer examination of the boxed area (inset) revealed that Ba4599 was closely related to 2 isolates from Turkey, A0149 and A0264. Solid black circles indicate the approximate position of collapsed branches (n = 3) and are labeled with the corresponding number of strains that fall within the node. Branch termini are occupied by whole genome sequenced strains (black stars). SNPs are numbered on a given branch; vertical bars along the A.Br.008/011 branches denote the phylogenetic placement of SNP assays used in our analysis of B. anthracis from heroin users in Europe. Consistency index = 0.923.

Main Article

¹Current affiliation: Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia.

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