Paper on Anthrax History – SUMMARY
Paper on Anthrax History explains that Studies have shown that Anthrax is a severe bacterial infection transmitted from animals, and can cause bowel, skin, and lung disease and can also be deadly. (“Medicinet.com”) According to CDC, Anthrax is prevalent in agricultural regions of southern and eastern Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America, central and southwestern Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. This paper briefly explains the facts about Anthrax, as well as more information from CDC, WHO, and other literary sources. The research shows how Anthrax is contracted by the Animal from the soil and then infects humans. Additionally, it clearly points out the types of Anthrax and other commonest Anthrax. It was also understood that Anthrax can be treated and avoided. A brief explanation of the experiment carried out by scientist on Bacillus anthracis was highlighted as well as how Anthrax is a biological weapon. The research concludes that the provision of quality veterinary operations for animals must be taken seriously to avoid the Anthrax infection.
ANTHRAX
Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria called Bacillus anthracis. Bacillus anthracis is a rod-shaped bacterium that produces toxin. Anthrax is a rare, but deadly disease. It is of different types, the cutaneous anthrax, inhalation anthrax, gastrointestinal anthrax, and the recently discovered, the injection anthrax. Its symptoms include fever, cold, sore throat, sores on the skin, dizziness, and many others.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Information on Anthrax
According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), anthrax, which is caused by Bacillus anthracis, can be found in the soil and affects animals directly only. These animals get infected when they breathe-in soils infected with the bacteria. Hence, human beings are infected only if they come in contact with infected animals, either through breathing in, eating food, or drinking water contaminated with the bacteria.
Anthrax occurs more in countries that lack adequate health programs that provide vaccination for animals. In developed countries like the U.S, animals that have once had anthrax are required to be vaccinated every year. As deadly as anthrax is, its only fair feature is that it is not contagious.
World Health Organization (WHO) Information on Anthrax
According to World Health Organization, anthrax basically affects herbivorous warm blooded creatures, albeit different well evolved creatures and a few fowls have been known not it. People for the most part get the malady from infected animals or as a consequence of exposure to the sullied animal product. There are three types of anthrax in people, they include, cutaneous, gastrointestinal, and pulmonary.
The most common, being cutaneous is caused by anthrax spores contaminating a cut. Gastrointestinal anthrax is caused by the consumption of meat of an anthrax-infected animal. The last one, rarest and the most severe is the pulmonary or inhalation anthrax. People can contract the pulmonary anthrax when they breathe in air that has anthrax spores suspended in it.
Anthrax is not transmitted from individual to individual, and can be treated with antibiotics. These antibiotics must be taken only with medical advice. However, there is a vaccine that prevents anthrax, though not widely known because it has not been tested widely on humans, but the vaccines are sometimes given to people who have the highest risk of contracting the infection.
Literary Source by MARC LAFORCE on Anthrax
With various experiments, scientists were able to develop some theories about Bacillus anthracis, some of which are:
The presence of filiform bodies in the blood of animals dying of anthrax, the ability of anthrax to be transmitted to other animals by the introduction of the infected blood to their bodies, the stage of dormancy of the spores in the soil, the ‘sporulating gram-positive rod’ form of the bacterium, its non-motility, its ability to grow well on blood agar plates, et cetera.
Anthrax as a biological weapon – UPMC
It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary to know that anthrax is used as a biological weapon. With all its features and ways of contracting it, some of which include;
- -The accessibility to Bacillus anthracis in microbe banks all around the world and in endemic territories.
- -The toughness of Bacillus anthracis spores in the earth might make Bacillus anthracis vaporized spread more compelling than numerous other potential specialists and more so, there is proof that methods for large scale manufacturing and vaporized spread of Bacillus anthracis have been produced. .
- -Antibiotic-safe strains of B. anthracis exists in nature also, could be utilized as a part of a deliberate discharge which could result to inhalational anthrax and when inhalational anthrax is not treated on time, it can be deadly. Historically, anthrax has been used as a biological weapon
With all of these, bioterrorists have adopted anthrax as one of their weapon and is now one of the most critical bioterrorism agents. An example of this scenario is the event that took place in 1993 when Aum Shinrikyo, a Japanese cult, released aerosols containing Bacillus anthracis into the air in one of their attacks in Tokyo. Luckily, no one was hurt. Another attack also took place in October 2001 when mails were used as a medium in sending the anthrax spores. Seven envelopes were sent, though four were retrieved, but the remaining three worked effectively infecting twenty two and killing five people.
PREVENTION AND CURE of ANTHRAX
Anthrax can be prevented by having a standard veterinary supervision of animals, especially the herbivores. Veterinarians and all who work on or with animals should use and wear protective clothes and equipment. If they are at high risk, they should be vaccinated.
Anthrax can be treated with antibiotics as a basic treatment for the vegetative stage of anthrax not against its spores.
References:
- Anthrax: Get the Facts on Symptoms and Transmission. (2015). Retrieved March 01, 2016, from https://www.medicinenet.com/anthrax/article.htm
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Basic Information. Retrieved March 01,2016, from https://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/basics/
- Guidance on anthrax: Frequently asked questions. (2016). Retrieved March 01, 2016, from https://www.who.int/csr/disease/Anthrax/anthraxfaq/en/
- The Center for Food Security & Public Health. (2007). Anthrax. 1-8. Retrieved March 1, 2016, from https://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/anthrax.pdf
- UPMC Center for Health Security. (2014). Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax). 1-4. Retrieved March 1,2016, from https://www.upmchealthsecurity.org/resources/fact-sheets/pdfs/anthrax.pdf
- World Health Organization. (2016). Anthrax. Retrieved March 01, 2016, from https://www.who.int/topics/anthrax/en/
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