Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis.

Bacillus

The only licensed anthrax vaccine, Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA) or BioThraxTM is indicated for active immunization for the prevention of disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, in persons 18 – 65 years of age at high risk of exposure.

Anthrax is thought to have originated in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Many scholars think that in Moses’ time, during the 10 plagues of Egypt, anthrax may have caused what was known as the fifth plague, described as a sickness affecting horses, cattle, sheep, camels and oxen.

Although rare in the United States, anthrax is still common throughout the developing world, in places such as Central America and South America, sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and southwestern Asia, southern Europe and Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean.

Discovery. Robert Koch, a German physician and scientist, first identified the bacterium that caused the anthrax disease in 1875 in Wollstein (now part of Poland). His pioneering work in the late 19th century was one of the first demonstrations that diseases could be caused by microbes.

Anthrax is a potential biological terrorism threat because the spores are resistant to destruction and can be easily spread by release in the air.

Anthrax weaponization is the development and deployment of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis or, more commonly, its spore (referred to as Anthrax), as a biological weapon. As a biological weapon, anthrax has been used in biowarfare and bioterrorism since 1914.

The last known naturally occurring human case of cutaneous anthrax associated with livestock exposure in the United States was reported from South Dakota in 2002. Texas experienced an increase of animal cases in 2019 and consequently higher than usual human risk.

In the US, there have been 17 confirmed anthrax infections, according to the centres for disease control and prevention. Five of the inhalation victims have died. More than 10,000 people who may have been exposed to the bacteria have been urged to begin taking antibiotics as a precaution.

Español (Spanish) Anthrax is a rare, but serious, infectious disease caused by bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis.

Untreated gastrointestinal anthrax also carries a mortality rate of 50%, but with appropriate treatment mortality rates decrease to less than 40%. Of all forms, cutaneous anthrax carries the best prognosis with a mortality estimated to be below 20%.

After production and purification, anthrax spores can be stored in a dry form which remains viable for decades. Spores may survive in the water, soil and on surface for several years. Inhalation of spores causes inhalational anthrax which is the most dangerous form of disease.

Animals that die of anthrax don’t have rigor mortis (stiffening of the body after death) because the blood does not clot upon death.

What is the treatment for anthrax? In most cases, early treatment can cure anthrax. The cutaneous (skin) form of anthrax can be treated with common antibiotics such as penicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin (Ilotycin, Ery-Ped, Ery-Tab), and ciprofloxacin (Cipro). The pulmonary form of anthrax is a medical emergency.

All types of anthrax infection can be treated with antibiotics, including intravenous antibiotics (medicine given through the vein). If someone has symptoms of anthrax, it’s important to get medical care as quickly as possible to have the best chances of a full recovery.

How is the disease transmitted? Anthrax usually does not typically spread from animal to animal or human to human. When anthrax spores are ingested, inhaled or enter the body through skin abrasions or cuts, they can germinate, multiply and produce toxin. Insects can transmit the bacterium between animals.

Management of anthrax in livestock includes quarantine of the affected herd, removal of the herd from the contaminated pasture (if possible), vaccination of healthy livestock, treatment of livestock with clinical signs of disease, disposal of contaminated carcasses (preferably by burning), and incineration of bedding …

Anthrax occurs naturally around the world in wild and domestic hoofed animals, especially cattle, sheep, goats, camels and antelopes. It can also occur in humans when they are exposed to the bacterium, usually through handling animals or animal hides.

Anthrax spores are not in the air or in water. However, you should avoid touching any animal carcasses you come across in the wild. People usually get anthrax through handling a dead or sick animal infected with anthrax or eating the meat from infected animals.

How is anthrax diagnosed? A diagnosis is made by finding the anthrax bacteria or antibodies to anthrax in the blood of infected animals through laboratory tests.

Today’s “Anthrax Spore Vaccine” (Colorado Serum Company) consists of live, non-disease causing spores of the B. anthracis bacterium. It is a vaccine widely available through veterinarians and is relatively inexpensive. It is labeled for use in all domestic farm animals at a dose of 1 cc subcutaneously in the neck.

Most mammals are susceptible to anthrax, but different animals have different levels of susceptibility. In general, herbivores are more susceptible to anthrax than carnivores. Under normal circumstances, cases of anthrax in dogs are very rare and dogs seem relatively resistant to infection.

While anthrax is rare in dogs, should your dog be infected it is most likely due to eating raw or undercooked meat that has been contaminated with the bacteria, or having had contact with the blood, tissues, or fluids of other animals that host spores.

Virulent anthrax spores enclosed in small gelatin capsules may be swallowed by mice and guinea-pigs without harm, though virulent spores can be recovered from the faeces for a week (Holman, 1922).”

Although rare, people can get anthrax after having contact with infected animals or their products, such as wool, hides, or hair. For this reason, people in certain occupations, like veterinarians, farmers, livestock producers, and others who handle animals and animal products may have an increased risk of exposure.

Bacillus anthracis spores do not have a characteristic appearance, smell or taste. Spores themselves are too small to be seen by the naked eye, but have been mixed with powder to transport them. Anthrax can only be identified through sophisticated laboratory testing.

The powder in the letters addressed to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Sen. Patrick J. Leahy was made of virtually pure anthrax spores, the tough, dormant form of the Bacillus anthracis bacteria, scientists say. The powder contained about 1 trillion spores per gram, close to the theoretical limit of purity.

Anthrax (AN-thraks) is an infectious disease caused by exposure to Bacillus anthracis bacteria. The bacteria are dormant, or inactive, in soil. Anthrax mostly affects animals that graze on land that has the bacteria.

Anthrax is rare, and most people will never be exposed to it. There is a vaccine licensed to prevent anthrax, but it is only recommended for routine use in certain groups of at-risk adults (for example, some members of the military and laboratory workers).