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Volume 18, Number 8—August 2012
Research

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 KeimComments to Author 
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)

Main Article

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

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

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