Anthrax

From ArticleWorld

Anthrax got its name from the Greek word anthrakis (coal), because of the black lesions that infected people develop on the skin surface. Anthrax affects wild and domestic herbivores, but, when exposed to high concentration of anthrax spores or infected animal tissues. There are 89 strains of anthrax currently known, of which the Ames strain, used in the US attacks in 2001.

Infection

The common infection cause is exposure to dead infected animals or products, like skin or meat, coming from infected animals. More recently, terrorist attacks use anthrax spores that enter the organism through intestines, lungs or skin. However, anthrax is not contagious and it rarely spreads from human to human.

Symptoms

Depending on how the agent entered the organism, there are different symptoms. If the agent entered the body through the lungs, flu-like symptoms are displayed for a few days, followed by acute respiratory complications. 10,000-20,000 spores are enough to cause this infection which, if not treated immediately, is fatal.

Gastrointestinal anthrax is a less deadly form that causes serious diarrhea and gastrointestinal problems. Vomiting of blood occurs as well. Gastrointestinal anthrax can be treated, and has a 25-60% death rate if it is left untreated.

In the agent entered the body through the skin, dark blisters will start appearing. The symptoms continue with a large, painless necrotic ulcer that destroys skin surface. Untreated, about 20% of these cases are fatal, but when treated, cutaneous anthrax is rarely fatal.

Treatment and prevention

Treatment involves large doses of antibiotics in normal cases, unless the strain is antibiotic-resistant or the agent entered the body through the lungs. Antibiotic treatment is inefficient in the latter case unless administered before the symptoms appear, and antibiotic prophylaxis is essential. A vaccine is also available, with annual booster injection required. Anthrax spores are large enough to be trapped with simple filters, and unbroken can be decontaminated with just soap and water.