Infected Soil Samples by Bacillus Anthracis, Confirmed by PCR

Anthrax in Albania is an endemic disease characterized by few outbreaks involving a very low number of animals. 19 samples of soil coming from burial sites of different regions of Albania were examined. The analysis of soil samples revealed that 11 of them were contaminated with anthrax spores.The analysis of CanSNPs showed that all isolates belong to lineage A major subgroup A Br. 008/009 (TransEurasian or TEA strains). The MLVA test at 15 loci showed three different genotypes: Albania GT/1, Albania GT / 2and Albania GT/3. Keywords: Bacillus anthracis, Albania, Real time PCR, MLVA, CanSNPs