Anthrax / Bacillus Anthracis Anthrax

Although mad-cow disease is always fatal, it is not really much of a worry in the United States. There have only been four cases of mad-cow disease ever recorded in the United States. In every case, the United States Department of Agriculture has intervened and recalled tons of beef, 10,400 lbs. in the first case to be exact, in order to insure that the meat did not reach the plates of United States citizens.

Smallpox killed about 500 million people. It was one of the world's most tragic epidemic. It was thought to have started Egypt 3,000 years ago. Also, it was eradicated in 1980, many people suffered. Smallpox is and was a very scary and dangerous virus.

What is Mad Cow Disease? Mad Cow Disease "is a normally extremely rare neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system of an animal and a human. The disease infested brain of the animal or human is slowly, progressively, and severely damaged. It has been categorized as a disease, which falls into the category of a disease known as Spongiform Encephalopathy. Having Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy is an over-dramatized way of specifying that one has diseased brain tissue which is; spongy, porous, and no

Anthrax is believed to originated in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Many scholars believe that anthrax was the fifth plague of the ten plagues of Egypt. Which was believed to bring sickness to cattle, horses, sheep, oxen and camels. Some scholars believe that anthrax helped the fall of Rome. The bacterial illness was mentioned in different famous roman literature such as homers the Iliad, and in different poems by Virgil just to name a few.

There are several different kinds of communicable diseases in today’s society. Smallpox happens to be one. Smallpox is considered to be a contagious, and fatal infectious disease. Smallpox has been existence for over 200 years, and the first known outbreak strated in Eruope and traveled to India and parts of Asia. “The pox part of smallpox is derived from the Latin word for “spotted” and refers to the raised bumps that appear on the face and body of an infected person,” (CDC, 2016, para 1). Smallpox is caused by the Variola virus. There are two clinical forms of smallpox, Variola major and minor. The most common form of smallpox is Variola major which is the most severe. “The last case of smallpox in the United States was in 1949. The last

Also, the anthrax spores can take between 1 - 60 days to begin to germinate in the body.

Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax can be transmitted via airborne methods such as bioterrorism, where it is used as a weapon and released into the air to cause infection, or by breathing in anthrax spores from infected animal products such as wool. Humans can also become infected by direct contact, from handling infected animal products, or by vehicular transmission from eating undercooked meat from infected animals causing gastrointestinal anthrax. Anthrax is not passed from one person to another. (Arthur Schoenstadt, 2017).

Smallpox is caused by a virus called “Variola Major” and “Variola Minor” which causes the skin to rash up all over the body. It is very infections and can often cause death. Smallpox can be contracted by human contacted. Small pox was first discovered 3000 years in Egypt and/or India. The first documented death was the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses V”. Many people were infected by this, which ended up destroying world emperors. Which caused cities to fall. There was and is no cure available for Smallpox but vaccinations can be used to significantly reduce the infection from occurring. The disease Is the worst disease in history because in the 20th century it Is approximated that over 300 million people died because of it. The disease is known to

Smallpox is caused by the variola virus. It is in the family of viruses called Poxviridae. There are two kinds of variola virus, variola major and variola minus. Variola major is much more severe than variola minor and kills about 30% of people who are infected. Variola minor kills between 1 and 5% of those infected. Smallpox does not infect any animals except humans and people or animals cannot just carry the disease. Smallpox is spread by face-to-face contract. It can also be spread through the bed sheets and clothes of people who have the disease. The symptoms of smallpox start about two weeks after people get the virus, with a fever and feeling of low energy. People also have headaches, sore throats, flu symptoms, and start throwing up. After a few days, a rash that is raised above the skin begins. People also get sores inside the mouth, throat, and nose. After a person has had smallpox for about three weeks, scabs form and then begin to fall off. A person is contagious from the time the fever starts until the last scab falls off. People do not spread the disease at school or out in

To this date, anthrax seems to be the so called weapon of choice by bioterrorists because of how affective the biological agent can be. Anthrax is considered to be noncontagious, since there are no confirmed cases where the bacterium spreads from person to person. “Bacillus anthracis is the bacterium that causes the disease anthrax. It has historically affected herbivores like cattle, sheep or other grazing herds, but has also been a threat to humans who work with these animals and their by-products.” (Lee Ann Obringer). The anthrax spores are actually harmless when they are on the ground or on another unidealistic surface, but once the spores find the right environment, they become deadly. The dream environment for anthrax is one that has

Being exposed to anthrax doesn't always mean you will be infected and if you can catch any kind early you'll have a better chance to survive. Doctors have many options for treatment. They can use antibiotics and antitoxins but people with the worse cases of anthrax have to be treated in the hospital. The aggressive hospital treatment may include draining fluid off the lungs and mechanical breathing machines. Every type of anthrax can be treated with antibiotics. Doctors also must include antitoxins with the common antibiotic treatments but there are not a lot of antitoxins available to use. Spores can be inactive in the body for up to 60 days which is why people exposed to the anthrax must be treated for 60 days after contamination. This helps so that when the anthrax spores become active they are protected against it. There is also a vaccine to prevent anthrax but it is very risky because there can be severe allergic reactions possible and it is not available to the general public. People who can get the vaccine are lab workers, vets, and US military personnel. It protects 90 percent of people that get the vaccine. The vaccine for animals reduces the risk for humans getting anthrax. (“Anthrax” Centers for disease control and

Anthrax is dangerous and deadly poison. It can be found in soil and wild animals. The attack of Anthrax took place on October 2001. Contact with anthrax can cause serious illness in humans and animals. Anthrax is not contagious, even though you get infected with anthrax when spores get into the body. Antibiotics can cure the disease. On October 2001, there was heavy pressure from the President to solve the Anthrax Files. In addition, they had two suspects for the Anthrax crime and FBI’s were sure that the second suspect was guilty.

These include: injection, cutaneous, ingestion and inhalation (Friebe, van der Goot, F. G., & Bürgi, 2016). Contaminating cattle or food is a possibility for a biological attack but typically the attackers strive for an aerosol weapon due to the lethality of anthrax inhalation. Early diagnosis of inhalation anthrax is difficult because the initial symptoms are similar to the flu and can easily be misdiagnosed. Early detection is critical for treatment but unless the physicians are alert to the possibility of anthrax, it can regrettably, be overlooked. Because of this, inhalation anthrax is can remain undetected until it’s too late (Goel, 2015). Therefore, anthrax is a disease of particular biodefense and public health

The earliest appearance of Anthrax occurred around 700 BC mostly affecting cattle, sheep, horses, and oxen. The people of Egypt and Mesopotamia at the time called it the 5th plague and the name Anthrax derives from the word coal, similar to the black skin leisures it produces. The first clinical cases of Anthrax were described around 1752 and 1769 by Maret and Fournier respectively (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Scientist Robert Koch was the first to study Bacillus anthracis in a clinical setting, in 1877 he developed the first microbial etiology. It was in the 1800’s that Anthrax was titled the “woolsorters disease” due to its relation with animal hair or wool from sheep (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Bacillus anthracis is an aerobic, spore-forming, nonmotile, monomorphic bacteria with little to no genetic diversity. Anthrax spores are able to lay dormant for long periods of time allowing it to survive more than 40 years in the soil, 80 years in a vial, and 200 years in bones (Friedlander, 336). Bacillus anthracis is therefore known as a risk-group 3 organism (Agren et al., 2014). This is part of what makes Anthrax such a risk, but more commonly Anthrax contamination in the soil only lasts for a few months and rarely for more than a few years when microbial competition exists in that soil (Friedlander, 336).

A person can develop cutaneous anthrax as soon as the anthrax spores get into the skin, usually through a wound. This can happen when a person handles infected animals or contaminated animal products such as wool, hides, or hair. Cutaneous anthrax is most common on the head, neck, forearms, and hands. It is also considered to be the least dangerous. It affects the skin and tissue around the site of infection. Infection usually develops 1 to 7 days after exposure.Mortality rate is typically below 1% due to the use of antibiotics, but if left untreated, the fatality rate can reach 20% (7, 8).