Kharatyan Satenik, Sargsyan Khachik, Elbakyan Hasmik, Hakobyan Varduhi, Sargsyan Vazgen, Chobanyan Gayane, Badalyan Manvel, Markosyan Tigran
Scientific Center for Risks Assessment and Analysis in Food Safety Area of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia.
Armenian National Agrarian University, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia.
Zoonoses Public Health. 2025 Feb;72(1):32-41. doi: 10.1111/zph.13181. Epub 2024 Sep 9.
Anthrax is a World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)-listed disease that must be reported upon confirmation based on the Terrestrial Animal Health Code. Anthrax poses a serious health issue for unvaccinated livestock, is a threat to humans through interaction with contaminated livestock and animal products and is endemic in many areas throughout the world, including the Transcaucasian Region. Despite several control and eradication efforts that have been implemented by the government of the Republic of Armenia (RA), sporadic cases of anthrax are still reported. We sought to understand the epidemic situation of anthrax in RA during the last 10 years (2012-2023) based on analysis of outbreaks and reported cases in cattle and humans.
We collected and evaluated officially reported data from human and animal cases, such as time, location, animal species, disease intensity and spread radius. The data and various parameters were mapped using ArcGIS to prepare a viable risk assessment.
Based on the officially available data and reports, there have been 80 human cases and 55 animal cases of anthrax confirmed in RA from 2012 to 2023. We also identified the presence of anthrax spores in soil and environmental samples near animal burial sites in RA in 2015-2017 through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Upon comparing the human and animal cases by frequency and intensity, the human cases are directly proportional to the animal husbandry practices performed in RA.
The detection of the anthrax pathogen at the burial sites highlights the continued threat in these areas. Thus, it is imperative to secure and monitor any areas that have been used for anthrax burial and limit the movement of animals in these areas. In the future, legislation should be updated to prioritise incineration of anthrax-infected carcasses instead of burial to limit further exposure to animals and humans.
炭疽是世界动物卫生组织（WOAH）列出的一种疾病，根据《陆生动物卫生法典》，一经确认必须上报。炭疽对未接种疫苗的牲畜构成严重健康问题，通过与受污染的牲畜及动物产品接触对人类构成威胁，在包括外高加索地区在内的世界许多地区呈地方流行。尽管亚美尼亚共和国政府已实施多项防控和根除措施，但仍有炭疽散发病例报告。我们试图通过分析牛和人类的疫情暴发及报告病例，了解亚美尼亚共和国过去10年（2012 - 2023年）的炭疽疫情形势。
我们收集并评估了来自人和动物病例的官方报告数据，如时间、地点、动物种类、疾病强度和传播半径。使用ArcGIS对数据和各种参数进行绘图，以进行可行的风险评估。
根据官方可得数据和报告，2012年至2023年亚美尼亚共和国共确诊80例人类炭疽病例和55例动物炭疽病例。我们还通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测，在2015 - 2017年亚美尼亚共和国动物埋葬地点附近的土壤和环境样本中发现了炭疽孢子。按频率和强度对人类和动物病例进行比较后发现，人类病例与亚美尼亚共和国的畜牧 practices 直接相关。
在埋葬地点检测到炭疽病原体凸显了这些地区持续存在的威胁。因此，必须保护和监测任何曾用于炭疽埋葬的区域，并限制这些区域内动物的流动。未来，应更新立法，优先对感染炭疽的尸体进行焚烧而非埋葬，以减少对动物和人类的进一步暴露。
