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Anthrax Is A Disease Of Herbivores And Commonly

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Introduction

Anthrax is a disease of herbivores and commonly infects the human through direct contact with the infected animals or ingests contaminated animal products. The causative agent of anthrax is Bacillus anthracis, rod-shaped, gram-positive bacteria and able to form endospore. [1] The spores of bacillus anthracis could affect both humans and animals through different routes and lead to a variety of clinical significant. Cutaneous, inhalational and gastrointestinal anthrax are the most well-known diseases caused by bacillus anthracis. The recent Anthrax outbreak in 2009 resulted in injectional anthrax, an anthrax disease that affects heroin users. [2] In this essay, the main focus is on injectional anthrax including a briefly description of Bacillus anthracis, the range of symptoms it may cause when injected into heroin users and the discussion of the methods to inactivate B. anthracis spores.

Bacillus anthracis

Anthracis belongs to genus Bacillus, rod-shaped, gram-positive bacteria. Its special characteristic is their ability to form dormant endospores in response to extreme conditions including nutrient deprivation and other environmental factors. The spores are antimicrobial and antibiotic resistance enables the organism to survive and endure in such unfavorable conditions. B.anthracis is an extremely virulent pathogen and the causative agent of anthrax, the disease in mammal known as cutaneous, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal anthrax and injectional anthrax

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