AUTHOR=Muhammad Javed , Rabbani Masood , Shabbir Muhammad Zubair , Muhammad Khushi , Ghori Muhammad Taslim , Chaudhry Haroon Rashid , Ul Hassnain Zia , Jamil Tariq , Abbas Tariq , Chaudhry Muhammad Hamid , Haisem-ur-Rasool Muhammad , Ali Muhammad Asad , Nisar Muhammad , Kirimanjeswara Girish S. , Jayarao Bhushan M. 

TITLE=Cross Sectional Study and Risk Factors Analysis of Francisella tularensis in Soil Samples in Punjab Province of Pakistan

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2019.00089

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2019.00089

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>Tularemia is an endemic zoonotic disease in many parts of the world including Asia. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine genome-based prevalence of <italic>Francisella tularensis</italic> (<italic>Ft</italic>) in soil, assess an association between its occurrence in soil and likely predictors i.e., macro and micro-nutrients and several categorical variables, and determine seroconversion in small and large ruminants. The study included a total of 2,280 soil samples representing 456 villages in eight districts of the Punjab Province of Pakistan followed by an analysis of serum antibodies in 707 ruminants. The genome of <italic>Ft</italic> was detected in 3.25% (<italic>n</italic> = 74, 95% CI: 2.60–4.06) of soil samples. Soluble salts (OR: 1.276, 95% CI: 1.043–1.562, <italic>p</italic> = 0.015), Ni (OR: 2.910, 95%CI: 0.795–10.644, <italic>p</italic> = 0.106), Mn (OR:0.733, 95% CI:0.565–0.951, <italic>p</italic> = 0.019), Zn (OR: 4.922, 95% CI:0.929–26.064, <italic>p</italic> = 0.061) and nutrients clustered together as PC-1 (OR: 4.76, 95% CI: 2.37–9.54, <italic>p</italic> = 0.000) and PC-3 (OR: 0.357, 95% CI: 0.640, <italic>p</italic> = 0.001) were found to have a positive association for the presence of <italic>Ft</italic> in soil. The odds of occurrence of <italic>Ft</italic> DNA in soil were higher at locations close to a water source, including canals, streams or drains, [χ<sup>2</sup> = 6.7, OR = 1.19, 95% CI:1.05–3.09, <italic>p</italic> = 0.004] as well as places where animals were present [χ<sup>2</sup> = 4.09, OR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.05–4.05, <italic>p</italic> = 0.02]. The seroconversion was detected in 6.22% (<italic>n</italic> = 44, 95% CI: 4.67–8.25) of domestic animals. An occurrence of <italic>Ft</italic> over a wide geographical region indicates its expansion to enzootic range, and demonstrates the need for further investigation among potential disease reservoirs and at-risk populations, such as farmers and veterinarians.</p>