Volume 8, Number 10—October 2002
THEME ISSUE
Bioterrorism-related Anthrax
Bioterrorism-related Anthrax
Two-Component Direct Fluorescent-Antibody Assay for Rapid Identification of Bacillus anthracis
Barun K. De*
, Sandra L. Bragg*, Gary N. Sanden*, Kathy E. Wilson*, Lois A. Diem*, Chung K. Marston*, Alex R. Hoffmaster*, Gwen A. Barnet*, Robbin S. Weyant*, Teresa G. Abshire†, John W. Ezzell†, and Tanja Popovic*
, Sandra L. Bragg*, Gary N. Sanden*, Kathy E. Wilson*, Lois A. Diem*, Chung K. Marston*, Alex R. Hoffmaster*, Gwen A. Barnet*, Robbin S. Weyant*, Teresa G. Abshire†, John W. Ezzell†, and Tanja Popovic*
Table 1
Origin, designations, and results of cell wall and capsule direct fluorescent-antibody assays for 230 Bacillus anthracis isolatesa
| Origin | No. of isolates | Temporal range and geographic origin | MLVA genotypes representedb | CW-DFA (% positive) | CAP-DFA (% positive) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human isolates | 31 | 1943–1997; Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America | 3,4,22,23,28,32,34, 35,36,37,41,43,44, 45,50,66,68 | 31 (100) | 31 (100) |
| Animal isolates | 29 | 1939–1997; Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America | 3,10,20,26,29,30,35,38,40,45,48,49,51, 55,57,78,80,81,84, 85,87, 89 | 29 (100) | 29 (100) |
| Environmental isolates (e.g., soil, burial sites, wool, tannery, mill) | 16 | 1950–1993; Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America | 13,14,21,24,47,62, 69,73,77,79,82 | 15 (94) | 16 (100) |
| pX01 plasmid cured | 4 | 1950–1974; North America | 3 (75) | 4 (100) | |
| pX02 plasmid cured | 1 | Africa | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | |
| 2001 anthrax outbreak | 149 | October 2001; United States | 62 | 149 (100) | 149 (100) |
| Total | 230 | 228 (99) | 229 (99.6) |
aDFA, direct fluorescent antibody assay; CW, cell wall; CAP, capsule; MLVA, multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis.
bKeim P, et al. J Bacteriol 2000;182:2928–36 (19).
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