Bacillus Anthracis and Biological Warfare Essay -- Germs Infections Wa

Bacillus Anthracis and Biological WarfareBacillus anthracis is a rod-shaped, nonmotile, aerobic, gram-positive bacterium that can be transmitted from herbivoric animals to humans (Figure 1). forwards an animals death, its orifices exude blood containing huge quantities of the bacterium. Anthrax forms highly resilient spores upon exposure to atmospheric conditions. Because of this spore-producing ability, even after the animal boniface dies the germs can sporulate again, persisting in the soil for up to some(prenominal) decades (1). No cases of human-to-human transmission have been reported for this zoonosis. Historically, human cases have been either industrial, as with woolsorters, or agricultural (2).Anthrax can be transmitted via 3 routes cutaneous anthrax, gastric anthrax, and inhalational anthrax. Of the three, cutaneous anthrax is intelligibly the most prevalent, accounting for rough 95% of all cases (3). In cutaneous anthrax, the bacterium invades when broken skin conta cts contaminated animal products (1). Within about 2 weeks, at the point of entry a localized sensible develops which turns the skin black, becoming a large welt. This coal black lesion gave revive to the term anthrax that is derived from the Greek anthrakos which means coal (3). While principally self-limited, large doses of oral antibiotics such as penicillin, ciprofloxacin, or doxycycline heal cutaneous anthrax rapidly and effectively. Antibiotic treatment speeds healing, and decreases the possibility of general diffusion and lethal toxemia (4). With both gastric and inhalational anthrax, on the another(prenominal) hand, large doses of intravenous antibiotics are necessary (2). Gastric anthrax is extremely rare, and results from consumption of contaminated, poorly cooked mea... ...defense against bioterrorism. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 5.4 (1999) 531-33.22. Friedlander, AM, Pittman, PR, and GW Parker. Anthrax vaccine show for safety and efficacy against inhalational anthrax. JAMA. 282.22 (1999) 2104-06.23. Nass, M. Anthrax vaccine Model of a solution to the biologic warfare threat. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America. 13.1 (1999) 187-205.24. Sidel, VW. Weapons of mass devastation The greatest threat to public health. JAMA. 262.5 (1989) 680-82.25. Fox, JL. Adjusting FDA policies to address bioterrorist threat. Nature Biotechnology. 17 (1999) 323-24.26. Zegers, ND, Kluter, E, van der Stap, H, et al. Expression of the protective antigen of Bacillus anthracis by Lactobacillus casei Towards the development of an oral vaccine against anthrax. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 87 (1999) 309-14.