Free Essays on Anthrax

Anthrax, disease of warm-blooded animals, including humans, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax most commonly occurs in cattle and other plant-eating mammals, but it can also affect humans who come in contact with infected animals. The disease is not considered contagious, however, and person-to-person spread of the disease is highly unlikely. Vaccines can protect against anthrax, and antibiotics can treat the disease in its early stages. Anthrax is a spore-forming bacterium . The spores have protective coats and can withstand extreme heat, drought, and other harsh conditions. They can live for centuries in soil. Anthrax spores also have the potential for use in biological warfare because of their ability to survive and because they spread easily in air and can be inhaled. Once the spores are inside the lungs, the bacteria develop and begin to multiply. In humans, the disease can appear in three forms: cutaneous, inhalation, and gastrointestinal. The cutaneous, or external form, primarily involves the skin and is contracted mainly by those who handle contaminated hides, wool, or carcasses. The bacteria enter through a cut or other opening in the skin, and a dark, itchy bump that resembles an insect bite appears. The bump then develops into an open sore with a black area in the center. The cutaneous form of anthrax can be treated with antimicrobial drugs. Death results in about 20 percent of untreated cases. Veterinarians, mill workers, laboratory researchers, and other people at risk of exposure to anthrax are generally vaccinated against the disease. Humans contract internal forms of anthrax by inhaling anthrax spores or by eating contaminated meat. People who work with animal hair and wool are most likely to inhale the spores, especially in areas where anthrax occurs in animals. Symptoms of inhaled anthrax initially resemble those of a cold or the flu- general aches and pains, fever, fatigue, cough, and mi... Free Essays on Anthrax Free Essays on Anthrax Anthrax is the preferred biological warfare agent because: It is highly lethal. 100 million lethal doses per gram of anthrax material (100,000 times deadlier than the deadliest chemical warfare agent). Silent, invisible killer. Inhalational anthrax is virtually always fatal. There are low barriers to production. Low cost of producing the anthrax material. Not high-technology. Knowledge is widely available. Easy to produce in large quantities. It is easy to weaponize. It is extremely stable. It can be stored almost indefinitely as a dry powder. It can be loaded, in a freeze-dried condition, in munitions or disseminated as an aerosol with crude sprayers. Currently, we have a limited detection capability. What is Anthrax? Anthrax is a naturally occurring disease of plant eating animals (goats, sheep, cattle, wine, etc.) caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. It is an illness which has been recognized since antiquity. Anthrax was common in essentially all areas where livestock are raised. Intensive livestock immunization programs have greatly reduced the occurrence of the disease among both animals and humans in much of the world, an most outbreaks occur in areas where immunization programs have not been implemented or have become compromised (primarily Africa and Asia; however, outbreaks occurred during the mid- I 990's in Haiti and the former Soviet Union). Anthrax spores can remain viable for several decades under suitable environmental conditions; thus, absence of cases does not equate to absence of risk. Humans can contract anthrax in three ways: Through cuts or breaks in the skin resulting from contact with an infected animal (cutaneous anthrax), resulting in local and possibly systemic (bloodstream) infection. From breathing anthrax spores (termed "woolsorters" disease) resulting in an infection of the lungs (inhalational anthrax). From eating infected meat, resulting in gastrointestinal i... Free Essays on Anthrax Anthrax, disease of warm-blooded animals, including humans, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax most commonly occurs in cattle and other plant-eating mammals, but it can also affect humans who come in contact with infected animals. The disease is not considered contagious, however, and person-to-person spread of the disease is highly unlikely. Vaccines can protect against anthrax, and antibiotics can treat the disease in its early stages. Anthrax is a spore-forming bacterium . The spores have protective coats and can withstand extreme heat, drought, and other harsh conditions. They can live for centuries in soil. Anthrax spores also have the potential for use in biological warfare because of their ability to survive and because they spread easily in air and can be inhaled. Once the spores are inside the lungs, the bacteria develop and begin to multiply. In humans, the disease can appear in three forms: cutaneous, inhalation, and gastrointestinal. The cutaneous, or external form, primarily involves the skin and is contracted mainly by those who handle contaminated hides, wool, or carcasses. The bacteria enter through a cut or other opening in the skin, and a dark, itchy bump that resembles an insect bite appears. The bump then develops into an open sore with a black area in the center. The cutaneous form of anthrax can be treated with antimicrobial drugs. Death results in about 20 percent of untreated cases. Veterinarians, mill workers, laboratory researchers, and other people at risk of exposure to anthrax are generally vaccinated against the disease. Humans contract internal forms of anthrax by inhaling anthrax spores or by eating contaminated meat. People who work with animal hair and wool are most likely to inhale the spores, especially in areas where anthrax occurs in animals. Symptoms of inhaled anthrax initially resemble those of a cold or the flu- general aches and pains, fever, fatigue, cough, and mi... Free Essays on Anthrax What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You â€Å"You sound like you have a cold,† my grandpa said over the phone. â€Å"Yeah, I have had it for almost two months now but it seems to be getting better,† I replied. â€Å"Gee, I hope it’s not Anthrax!† he darted back at me without hesitation. After the routine small talk I hung up the phone since my mom was not home to talk to him. I thought to myself, â€Å"He is loosing it worse than I thought! Anthrax is only found in livestock.† I told my mom he called and about the laugh I had but then she informed me that livestock was the most common carriers but not the only. After that incident, I started to ponder about this deadly disease. Is it a disease? To start, all I knew to be true about Anthrax is that it can kill people and that the vaccine is not available to the general public. After searching on the Internet for information I found the most common definition for Anthrax to be this: Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus Anthracis. The three parts of that bacterium are edema toxin, lethal toxin, and a capsular antigen. To me, this means nothing. It doesn’t tell me how to avoid getting Anthrax or how it can be contracted. After reading deeper into it, I discovered that there are three major clinical forms: cutaneous, inhalation, and gastrointestinal. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Cutaneous Anthrax is the most common naturally occurring type of infection and usually occurs after skin contact with contaminated meat, wool, hides, or leather from infected animals. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) It seems strange to me that this is the most common because meats have to be approved before being put on the shelves of stores. Inhalation Anthrax is the most lethal form of Anthrax. The spores must be aerosolized (to disperse as an aerosol) in order to cause this type. The studies aren’t too sure of ho... Free Essays on Anthrax Anthrax As the number of Americans exposed to anthrax increases, so does public anxiety. What do you need to know? I am here to inform you of what anthrax really is? How people get anthrax? Where does anthrax come from? What are the symptoms and treatment to anthrax? What is anthrax? Anthrax is acute infectious animal disease that has been around for tens of thousands of years. The germ produces long-lasting infectious spores. These spores can survive in the environment for a long time. Grass-eating animals, such as cattle, are most often infected because they can eat spores living in the soil. Animal vaccination - and destruction of infected herds - has drastically reduced the number of infected animals. Even so, anthrax spores continue to be found in soil samples from all over the world. When anthrax spores get inside the body, they grow rapidly. The germs themselves can cause dangerous infections. Far more dangerous is a substance they produce in the body called- anthrax toxin - which helps the bug survive by killing off cells of the immune system. This toxin is so deadly that it can kill even after infection is brought under control. How do people get anthrax? People can catch anthrax from infected animals or contaminated animal products. Most natural infection comes from skin contact. In the past, industrial wool sorters were at high risk of infection. You can also get anthrax infection from eating raw or too-rare meat - but this is uncommon. Even more uncommon - but by far most deadly - is anthrax caught by inhaling spores or infection is transmitted through the skin. . Until the events of September, 2001, there hadn’t been a case of inhalation anthrax in the U.S. since 1978. The disease has two forms: a skin from and a pulmonary form. In the skin and most contagious form of the infection is transmitted through a break in the skin. After an abrasion forms and the dead tissue and crust fall off, infections may sp... Free Essays on Anthrax Terrorism and Anthrax in America The threat of a terrorist attack of any kind in America at this point and time seems very unrealistic. Should we let our guard down? Even though nothing has happened in the last several months regarding terrorism in America. The last few months in the Middle East unfortunately has been chaos. Are the Palestinians planning something big against America or could it be some of Americans own citizens to perform the next act of major terrorism? We as Americans should still fear the threat of any kind of terrorism that me be brought before us. America has been a target with terrorism ever since our political involvement with the Middle East. The United States has had involvement with the Middle East ever since the Gulf War in the early 1990’s. The United States became more involved in the happenings in the Middle East when the Palestinian Liberation Organization (P.L.O.) was recognized. The P.L.O. is an organization that was developed to help the Palestinians try to recover land that they lost when the country of Israel was established in 1948. America soon became allies with Israel, because America felt like the Palestinian countries were being a threat to the people of Israel. Which in terms is the major reason Americans and Jews are hated and despised by a majority of Palestinians. There is even an extreme an Afghanistan terrorist group called the Al Qaeda which whom Osama Bin Laden is believed to be in leadership of. The extreme terrorist group has training camps to teach kids as young as 14 years old how to use guns, bombs, and different types of weapons of mass destruction. These kids are even taught to hate Americans and Jews. On September 11, 2001 two planes crashed into the World Trade Centers in New York City. This has been the one of the only major attacks on United States soil. Some things that transpired after the attack were a higher security alert for terrorists in Ameri... Free Essays on Anthrax What is anthrax? Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax most commonly occurs in warm-blooded animals, but can also infect man. Anthrax spores can be produced in a dry form (for biological warfare ) which may be stored and ground into particles. When inhaled by humans, these particles cause respiratory failure and death within a week. Why has anthrax become a current issue? Because anthrax is considered to be a potential agent for use in biological warfare, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced that it will begin systematic vaccination of all U.S. military personnel. Who gets anthrax? Anthrax is most common in agricultural regions where it occurs in animals. These include South and Central America, Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. When anthrax affects humans, it is usually due to an occupational exposure to infected animals or their products. Workers who are exposed to dead animals and animal products (industrial anthrax) from other countries where anthrax is more common may become infected with B. anthracis. Anthrax in animals rarely occurs in the United States. Most reports of animal infection are received from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Dakota. How is anthrax transmitted? Anthrax infection can occur in three forms: cutaneous (skin), inhalation, and gastrointestinal. B. anthracis spores can live in the soil for many years and humans can become infected with anthrax by handling animal products from infected animals or by inhaling anthrax spores from contaminated animal products. Anthrax can also be spread by eating undercooked meat from infected animals. It is rare to find infected animals in the United States. What are the symptoms of anthrax? Symptoms of disease vary depending on how the disease was contracted, but symptoms usually occur within seven days. Cutaneous: Most anthra...