ANTRAX DISEASE

Anthrax

Anthrax is one of the most dangerous acute infectious diseases , which can occur both in human and animal organisms . It is caused by the bacterium called Bacillus anthracis , a one-cell micro-organism which can form dormant (asleep ) spores . Under certain conditions , such dormant spore can get alive and start reproducing itself very rapidly throughout the infected tissue . The anthrax bacteria usually live in soils and can survive there for decades and possibly even centuries

Therefore , this disease occurs mostly in wild or domestic animals as they are eating grass . Humans can

also get infected with anthrax in case of exposure to infected animals , breathing in the spores or consuming infected animal products . Another way to develop an infection is to be deliberately exposed to natural or artificial bacteria created in labs It is one of known terrorist weapons , which was used in our country in 2001 . During that attack some Americans received anthrax bacteria through our Postal Service . As a result 5 people died and other 17 were considered infected

There are three known forms of anthrax , which include cutaneous (skin anthrax , inhalation (pulmonary or lungs ) anthrax and gastrointestinal (digestive ) anthrax . Every form has different symptoms and signs . For example , cutaneous anthrax occurs in the cases when the spores enter a cut or abrasion on human skin . In the beginning an itchy bump resembling an insect bite appears , which in one or two days develops into a big wound with a black center . This type of anthrax is the most spread and the less dangerous : only about 1 cases can be lethal provided a proper treatment (Mayo Clinic , 2007

Inhalation anthrax can occur after inhaling the spores . The first signs of this form are same as the symptoms of flu : sore throat , pains in the chest , fatigue , fever , etc . After this the symptoms can fade away for some days , but soon the patient will start having very high fever and problems with breathing . On that stage anthrax spores start producing deadly toxins , which affect not only lungs , but also lymph nodes of human organism . The spores can even spread through blood system to human brain . This form of anthrax is considered to be the most dangerous and it became the reason of deaths after terrorist attack in 2001

Finally , gastrointestinal form of anthrax occurs after eating improperly cooked food products received from an infected animal . As the spores spread in stomach and go into intestines , numerous ulcers start appearing and cause bleeding . The warning signs of gastrointestinal anthrax are nausea , loss of appetite , fever and vomiting . However , later on such symptoms as severe diarrhea and terrible stomach pains can take place . This form of anthrax is lethal in about 25-60 cases (Mayo Clinic , 2007

A number of antibiotics , including penicillin , doxycycline ciprofloxacin and some others , are the most effective treatment for anthrax . It is very important to identify the disease on early stages and start treatment immediately . For all three forms of anthrax the treatment course usually lasts 60 days...