Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39773989›Full record

ArticleThe American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene2025

Identification of Anthrax as the Cause of a Cluster of Unexplained Deaths, Uganda, 2023: The Role of Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing and Postmortem Specimens.

Nicholas Bbosa, Deogratius Ssemwanga, Sonja L Weiss, Sam Kalungi, Anatoli Mawanda, Richard Ssentudde, Emmanuel Ssekyeru, Alfred Ssekagiri, Ronald Kiiza, Cleophous Rwankindo and 13 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

23 authors.

Nicholas BbosaMRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.
Deogratius SsemwangaMRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.
Sonja L WeissAbbott Pandemic Defense Coalition (APDC), Abbott Park, Illinois.
Sam KalungiPathology Department, Mulago National Referral Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.
Anatoli MawandaPathology Department, Mulago National Referral Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.
Richard SsentuddePathology Department, Mulago National Referral Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.
Emmanuel SsekyeruKalisizo General Hospital, Kalisizo, Uganda.
Alfred SsekagiriUganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
Ronald KiizaMRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.
Cleophous RwankindoUganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
Joshua BuuleUganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
Hamidah Suubi NamagembeMRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.
Stella NabiryeUganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
Justine Priscilla NassoloUganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
Robert DowningUganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
Julius LutwamaUganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
Tom LutaloUganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
Henry Kyobe BosaMinistry of Health, Kampala, Uganda.
Michael G BergAbbott Pandemic Defense Coalition (APDC), Abbott Park, Illinois.
Mary A RodgersAbbott Pandemic Defense Coalition (APDC), Abbott Park, Illinois.
Francisco AverhoffAbbott Pandemic Defense Coalition (APDC), Abbott Park, Illinois.
Gavin A ClohertyAbbott Pandemic Defense Coalition (APDC), Abbott Park, Illinois.
Pontiano KaleebuMRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Between April and November 2023, 27 unexplained human deaths that presented with swelling of the arms, skin sores with black centers, difficulty in breathing, obstructed swallowing, headaches, and other body aches were reported in Kyotera District, Uganda by the Public Health Emergency Operations Center. Subsequently, the death of cattle on farms and the consumption of carcass meat by some residents were also reported. Field response teams collected clinical/epidemiological data and autopsy samples to determine the cause of deaths. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and target enrichment sequencing conducted on postmortem samples confirmed Bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax disease, as the cause of the deaths. Applying mNGS to autopsy specimens is useful as a retrospective tool for identifying high-consequence pathogens during suspected outbreaks of unknown etiology.

Indexed as

AnthraxBacillus anthracisHigh-Throughput Nucleotide SequencingMetagenomicsAdolescentAdultAnimalsAutopsyCattleCause of DeathChildChild, PreschoolDisease OutbreaksFemaleHumansMale

Identifiers

PMID39773989
PMCPMC11965767

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.