Abstract

BACKGROUND: In this work are reported the results of a qualitative analytical method capable of detecting Bacillus anthracis spores when they are present in very low concentration in the soil.The Ground Anthrax Bacillus Refined Isolation (GABRI) method, assessed in our laboratory, was compared with the classic method. The comparison involved artificially anthrax-contaminated soil samples (500 spores/7.5 grams soil) and naturally contaminated soil samples collected in Bangladesh during a field investigation. RESULTS: The results indicated that, in contrast to the classic method, the GABRI method was able to detect B.anthracis in all contaminated samples. The GABRI method produces a more sensitive measure of anthrax spore presence significantly different from the standard method. In particular, the latter is more sensitive to the presence of normal soil contaminants. CONCLUSION: The main feature of the GABRI method is its ability to strongly reduce the presence of the environmental contaminants which being much more numerous than B.anthracis tend to inhibit their germination and growth making it extremely difficult to visualize any colonies. The reduction of the microbial environment also allows one to be able to culture and test a larger quantity of potentially contaminated soil and to isolate B. anthracis when the spores are present in very low concentrations in the soil.

Autore Pugliese

• Buonavoglia Domenico

Tutti gli autori

• BUONAVOGLIA D.

Titolo volume/Rivista

Non Disponibile

Anno di pubblicazione

2013

ISSN

1471-2180

ISBN

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Wos

10

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Scopus

9

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile

Settori ERC

Non Disponibile

Codici ASJC

Non Disponibile