Farm and Home Biosecurity
Consumer/General Public and Livestock/Row Crop Producer
Anthrax Has Been a Problem for Thousands of Years
For untold centuries, anthrax has caused disease in animals and, on occasion,
serious illness in humans throughout the world.
The organism that causes the disease, Bacillus anthracis, comes from
the Greek word for coal, because the disease causes black, coal-like skin
lesions.
The earliest known description of anthrax is found in the book of Genesis.
The fifth plague (1491 BC), which appears to have been anthrax, was described as
killing the Egyptians' cattle.
There are descriptions of anthrax involving both animals and humans in the
early writings of Hindus and Greeks. Anthrax in the United States was first
reported among animals in Louisiana in the early 1700s.
Occupational anthrax occurred in the mid-1800s in England, where it was known
as woolsorter's disease, and in
Germany, where it was known as ragpicker's
disease. Ragpicker's disease occurred
in individuals who handled rags that had been woven from contaminated animal
fibers.
In the United States, human anthrax cases have been reported from most of the
states. At first, cases were related to animal contact from areas that
experienced widespread incidence of the disease in cattle, sheep and horses. As
the United States became more industrialized, human cases associated with the
textile and tanning industries occurred with increasing frequency.
Anthrax, a disease of plant-eating animals transmissible from animals to man,
occurs primarily in three forms: cutaneous, inhalation, and gastrointestinal.
The hardy anthrax spore can survive for decades in certain environments and
types of soils. Spores germinate when they enter an environment that provides
moisture, food and warmth, such as blood or tissues of an animal or human host.
Usually, cutaneous anthrax occurs on the exposed parts of the body with sites
of previous cuts or abrasions being particularly susceptible to infection. The
first sign of infection, which can occur up to 12 days after exposure, is a
painless, itchy lesion that forms at the site of infection.
Without antibiotic therapy, the mortality rate has been reported to be as
high as 20 percent. With antibiotics, death due to cutaneous anthrax is rare.
Inhalation anthrax, which has been in the news, occurs when spores that are
small enough to be taken into the lungs are breathed in. These spores not only
have to be small enough to enter the lungs, but they have to be in large enough
quantities to overcome the body'
defense system. The incubation period can range from two to 45 days.
Symptoms of the disease usually progress in two stages. Patients first
develop a variety of non-specific symptoms, including fever, shortness of
breath, cough, headache, vomiting, chills, weakness, abdominal pain, and chest
pain. This stage of the illness can last from hours to days and this is
followed, in some individuals, by a brief period of apparent recovery.
The second stage develops abruptly, with sudden fever, shortness of breath,
profuse sweating, and shock and death can follow within hours. Early diagnosis
of inhalation anthrax is difficult and given the rapid onset of symptoms, early
antibiotic administration is essential.
Persons with fever or other prominent symptoms in an area where anthrax cases
are occurring or exposure has taken place are usually treated with antibiotics.
Gastrointestinal or ingestion anthrax occurs following the ingestion of
undercooked meat from sick animals, meat from animals that have died from the
disease, or other contaminated foodstuffs.
There is a limited supply of anthrax vaccine, and its use has been
controversial. At this time, the vaccine is used only for essential service
personnel. Even if it were available, it is not recommended for the general
population.
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