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Madagascar reports more human plague (causative agent: Yersinia pestis) cases annually than any other country (1), often several hundred each season (typically September-March) (2). Y. pestis persists in multiple rural [...]

Burkholderia thailandensis, a gram-negative bacterium found in the environment, poses a public health threat both because of its ability to cause infections as an opportunistic pathogen and potential misidentification as [...]

Francisella tularensis, a Tier 1 select agent (7), has 3 subspecies: tularensis (type A), holarctica (type B), and mediasiatica (Appendix 1 Figure, https://wwwnc. cdc.gov/EID/article/25/5/18-0363-App1.pdf). In humans, disease is caused by [...]

Tularemia is a disease caused primarily by 2 subspecies of Francisella tularensis: F. tularensis subsp. tularensis, which is restricted to North America; and F. tularensis subsp. holarctica, which is found [...]

Leptospirosis, caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira, is a neglected and potentially fatal disease that burdens impoverished communities of developing nations in tropical regions (1-4). The bacteria cause 1.7 [...]

Tularemia is a disease caused by distinct subspecies and phylogenetic groups within the bacterial species Francisella tularensis (1,2). These groups exhibit distinct phylogeographic patterns; F. tularensis subsp. tularensis (type A) [...]

Tularemia, caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis, is a potentially severe disease that often causes unspecific symptoms; because of its low infectious dose and ease of dissemination, F. tularensis is [...]

Bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive endosporeforming bacterium that causes the disease anthrax in livestock, wildlife, and humans. Because of its hardy spores, B. anthracis can survive for extended periods in [...]

Fraancisella tularensis is the etiologic agent of tularemia and a highly virulent category A biothreat agent (1,2). The most widely distributed subspecies is F. tularensis subsp. holarctica, which is found [...]

Genotyping of microorganisms typically relies on comparison of genomic features (e.g., fragment size, repeats, single-nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) between strains and/or against a database of feature profiles (e.g., PulseNET and mlst.net) [...]

Glanders is an equine disease that was recognized by Hippocrates and Aristotle (1). It is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia mallei, an obligate pathogen of horses, donkeys, and mules (Equidae), [...]

Endemic melioidosis is caused by genetically diverse Burkholderia pseudomallei strains. However, clonal outbreaks (multiple cases caused by 1 strain) have occurred, such as from contaminated potable water. B. pseudomallei is [...]

A small number of conserved canonical single nucleotide polymorphisms (canSNP) that define major phylogenetic branches for Bacillus anthracis were used to place a Sverdlovsk patient's B. anthracis genotype into 1 [...]

The causative agent of tularemia, Francisella tularensis, is a formidable biologic agent that occurs naturally throughout North America. We examined genetic and spatial diversity patterns among 161 US F. tularensis [...]

In July 1993, a liquid suspension of Bacillus anthracis was aerosolized from the roof of an eight-story building in Kameido, Tokyo, Japan, by the religious group Aum Shinrikyo. During 1999 [...]

To the Editor: Tularemia is a zoonosis caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis; the main forms of disease that occur in humans are ulceroglandular/glandular, oculoglandular, oropharyngeal, and respiratory. In Turkey, [...]

Burkholderia pseudomallei is endemic to Southeast Asia and northern Australia; the organism has also been identified on other continents and islands but not North America (1). B. pseudomallei is present [...]

Linking human disease events to likely sources of infection has been advanced by molecular epidemiology. However, isolates from several potential infection sources often are similar, and none may exactly match [...]

To the Editor: Forensic and epidemiologic investigation of the 2001 bioterrorism-associated anthrax attacks used multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) to identify the attack strain as Ames (1). Strain identity was [...]

To the Editor: Anthrax is a global zoonotic disease, but human infections are rare in countries of Western Europe. During 2009-2010, a total of 119 (47 laboratory-confirmed) drug-abuse-related cases of [...]

The hyper-virulent emm59 genotype of invasive group A Streptococcus was identified in northern Arizona in 2015. Eighteen isolates belonging to a genomic cluster grouped most closely with recently identified isolates in New Mexico. The continued transmission of emm59 in the southwestern United States poses a public health concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed 10 isolates of Francisella tularensis subspecies holarctica from China and assigned them to known clades by using canonical single-nucleotide polymorphisms. We found 4 diverse subtypes, including 3 from the most basal lineage, biovar japonica. This result indicates unprecedented levels of diversity from a single region and suggests new models for emergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To map the distribution of anthrax outbreaks and strain subtypes in Kazakhstan during 1937-2005, we combined geographic information system technology and genetic analysis by using archived cultures and data. Biochemical and genetic tests confirmed the identity of 93 archived cultures in the Kazakhstan National Culture Collection as Bacillus anthracis. Multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis genotyping identified 12 genotypes. Cluster analysis comparing these genotypes with previously published genotypes indicated that most (n = 78) isolates belonged to the previously described Al.a genetic cluster, 6 isolates belonged to the A3.b cluster, and 2 belonged to the A4 cluster. Two genotypes in the collection appeared to represent novel genetic sublineages; 1 of these isolates was from Krygystan. Our data provide a description of the historical, geographic, and genetic diversity of B. anthracis in this Central Asian region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented about a study involving the incidence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Yersinia (Y.) pestis in North America.