Anthrax

Types | Plague | Anthrax | Smallpox | Possibilities

Causes

• Anthrax is caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthacis. This is a bacterium that forms spores.

Image courtesy of CDC

• A spore is a dormant cell that can "wake up" under the right conditions
• There are 3 types of Anthrax: cutaneous (an infection of the skin), inhalation (an infection of the lungs), and gastrointestinal (an infection of the digestive system).

Transmission

• Cutaneous or inhalation anthrax can be transmitted by handling products from infected animals (such as wool).
• Gastrointestinal anthrax can be obtained by eating undercooked meat from infected animals
• Anthrax can also be caught by directly handling the spores

How to recognize and handle a suspicious package or envelope.

Incubation Period

• Symptoms usually appear within a week
• Inhalation anthrax may take up to 42 days for symptoms to appear

Effects

• Cutaneous
  • Sores
  • Blisters

  Image courtesy of CDC

  • Skin ulcer with a black area in the center

  

  Image courtesy of CDC

  • The sores, blisters and ulcers do not hurt
• Gastrointestinal
  • Nausea
  • Loss of appetite
  • Bloody diarrhea
  • Fever
  • Bad stomach pain
• Inhalation
  • Cold or flu-like symptoms
    • Sore throat
    • Mild fever
    • Muscle aches
    • Note: Do not confuse with actual cold or flu...There are no runny noses with anthrax

  If you are still not sure, go here.

  • Later symptoms
  • Cough
  • Chest discomfort
  • Shortness of breath
  • Tiredness
  • Muscle aches

   

Mortality

• Cutaneous
  • Untreated: ~20%
  • Treated: <1%
• Inhalation
  • Around 75% even with treatment
• Gastrointestinal
  • between 25 - 60%

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© 2003 Jay Farmer, J.P. Oehrtman, and Tim Maluvac. All rights reserved, except for the images, which retain their own copyrights.

This site is designed by Jay Farmer, J.P. Oehrtman, and Tim Maluvac for MBI 699.W.

Last modified: August 7, 2003

background courtesy of: http://bt.swmed.edu