Anthrax is a bacterial disease instigated by the endospore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium Bacillus anthracis . Anthrax itself comes from the Greek word for coal, nthrax, attributable to the coal colored lesions that oftentimes develop on victims’ dermis. Though the sporadic disease most commonly affects animals in agricultural regions, it can sometimes infect humans and cause serious illness as well as both hypodermic and internal infections that can prove fatal to those infected.
German microbiologist and physician Dr. Robert Koch (1843-1910) successfully isolated Bacillus anthracis in 1875 by growing the organism in a pure culture and identifying the bacteria’s ability to form endospores, a resistant type of spore that develops in some bacteria cells. Furthermore, Koch produced experimental anthrax by injecting the disease into animals. From his research and experimentation, Koch was able to discern the life cycle of anthrax and develop the Koch postulates, which identified the causative relationship between microorganisms and diseases. The proof outlined in his discoveries in the late 1800s allowed for later scientists to develop a comprehensive Germ Theory, a notion which states that certain microorganisms present in the body can in fact cause diseases. Long before the formal discovery of the disease, anthrax had originated in 1250 BC, where it is thought to have developed in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece. As the disease was in all likelihood much more dangerous in olden times due to the lack of an ability to control the spread of the bacteria, some theories suggest that anthrax contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. It was only in the 1752 and 1769 that the first clinical observations of cutaneous...
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... an official stop in February 19th, 2010. Independent scientists convened on February 15, 2011 to conclude that though Irvins could very well have been the perpetrator, there was no direct evidence that could prove as such. In total, 22 people had become infected and 5 had perished from the Ames strain of anthrax. However, 10,000 people were put at risk of contracting the disease.
Bacillus anthracis, is not only a dangerous bacteria that can cause a fatal disease, but is also one that can be manipulated to terrorist’ advantage to cause widespread and uncontrollable terror to entire societies. Qualitative analysis comes into play in consideration of the prevention of the spread of the disease, as proper and rapid identification of anthrax can drastically improve the prospects of halting contamination, as efficient diagnosis is directly correlated to prevention.
The 2001 anthrax attacks was one of the worst bio-weapon attacks on the US in history. The attacks where done through the mail. The anthrax was placed in envelopes with a letter and mailed from various locations to different people and organizations. The anthrax filled letters ended up killing 5 people, causing 17 to become sick and exposing anthrax it is believed to as many as 30,000 people. During the mail process spores of anthrax from the letters escaped and got on mailroom equipment exposing postal employees. If a person was exposed to enough anthrax and developed symptoms they typically died in a few days. Postal workers during the attacks where told that anthrax will appear as a white powder t...
Guillemin, J. (2002). The 1979 Anthrax Epidemic in the USSR: Applied Science and Political Controversy. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 146(1), 18-36.
In conclusion Bacillus anthracis is a bacterium that lives thrives in soil. It can infect its hosts in many ways. It can be lethal if not treated with the right antibiotics or surgery. Outbreaks are not common but when they did occur is was due to vegetative spores that were released from the bacterium. Anthrax infections can be complicated and symptoms can either be noticeable or not. It can be dangerous.
Linkous, J. (2004). More details on new anthrax search. Retrieved Oct. 06, 2005, from CBS News Web site: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/05/national/main647441.shtml.
This chapter gives detailed information about a man named Lawrence Brilliant and how his guru encourages his efforts to join the small pox eradication program. The eradication program is outlined through this chapter which was led by DA Henderson. Chapter four “The Other Side of The Moon” Starts with Vladimir Pasechnik and his desertion of his country to the United Kingdom. This chapter outlines how he gave information on the soviet biological weapons program to MI6. This chapter shows that the Russians had ICBMs armed with smallpox. This chapter also talks about biological weapons facilities located in Russia and Iraq. This chapter also goes through the what the Ad Hoc Committee on Orothopox Infections is and much of the work they do. It discusses the history of thr committee and debates between Da Henderson and Peter Jahrling on their differences. Chapter five “A Woman With a Peaceful Life” outlines a microbiologist and epidemiologist named Dr. Lisa Hensley. It describes the her story relating to how she was first hired to work with Ebola. It goes through the a January 2000 accident titled the “Hot
With the continuous advancements in biomedicine follows a continuous proliferation of bioterrorism, which uses biological agents for malicious purposes (Anderson 2). More specifically, bioterrorism is a method of terrorism that intentionally releases or disseminates biological weapons that may be in natural occurring or human-modified form (Botulism- Definition). Although bioterrorism is considered as a recent dilemma, the use of biological weapon predates recorded history, during the ancient times where biological toxins were extracted from plants and animals and ap...
First we will discuss the first known utilization of bioterrorism, in the 6th Century BCE. The Assyrians used Rye Ergot to poison the Israelite’s water supply. The goal was to infect the enemy with Ergotism which created symptoms such as hallucinations, gastrointestinal upset, and in even gangrenous development on the fingers and toes due to massive vasoconstriction. What the Assyrians didn’t realize was that for the poisoning to be successful enough to show any sign of infection, the poisoning had to be chronic, which was not the case in this instance. Therefore the first incident of bioterrorism was unsuccessful.
Bacillus anthracis or anthrax is bacteria that infect thousands of people a year worldwide. Mostly found in the hinds and hair of grazing animals like cattle and sheep, the bacteria can stay dormant for years until contacted. Contact can occur through broken skin, eating infected meat, or inhaling infected dust from hides through the mouth or nostrils. Normal contact through the skin begins forming malignant skin ulcers that are dark black in appearance. If left untreated, the blisters lead to blood poisoning and eventually death. Eating contaminated meat not fully cooked can cause intestinal infection also leading to death. Surprisingly, many people survive contact of the skin and very few cases of intestinal infection exist. However, inhalation of infected dust or spores are much more deadly because the symptoms resemble a common cold...
In the 1630s, another small pox epidemic broke out in what is modern day Massachusetts. After this epidemic, small pox would spread rapidly all across the New World killing off almost 90% of the Native peoples. It is said that this disease killed so many so rapidly that no one had the strength to even bury the dead. The Natives had such weak immune systems that sometimes the small pox
The morning of September 11, 2001, Americans experienced vulnerability and realized a new fear, the threat of a bioterrorist attack. In the days that followed the terrorist attacks letters tainted with anthrax began appearing in the U.S. mail. Five Americans were killed and 17 were sickened in what became the worst biological attacks in U.S. history (“Amerithrax or Anthrax Investigation”). Bioterrorism is defined as a criminal act against unsuspecting civilians and a threat to national security with the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or germs. An attack of bioterrorism is meant to cause illness or death by microorganisms that are found in nature, but they can be made more harmful because of an increased ability to cause and spread disease which resists medical treatment. These biological agents can spread from person to person or can be released into the food supply, water, or air. They can be hard to detect because they may not cause illness for hours or several days, thus giving terrorists an advantage allowing them to go escape undetected until symptoms arise and an attack is suspected. Biological weapons are appealing because they are often easy to obtain and inexpensive, and can be easily distributed. The main objective of bioterrorism is to cause panic and terror, not necessarily casualties. The social disruption they cause can be far worse than any actual damage.
...merithrax Investigation :. : Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety and Biodefense Law., 31 July 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
Anthrax has been around for thousands of years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anthrax is believed to have originated in Egypt and Mesopotamia in the late 1300s B.C.E. during the time of the 10 plagues. Many believe it was the fifth plague. Ancient Greece and Rome also discovered anthrax, as the famous author Homer referenced it in The Iliad around 700 B.C. (https://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/resources/history/index.html). For many years, anthrax was studied in detail. Robert Koch was the first person to note the life cycle of the disease, and in 1881, the first vaccine for animals was created (https://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/resources/history/index.html). Anthrax is mostly found in animals such as ovine, bovine, equine, etc. It is a zoonotic disease meaning, it can be transferred from animal to human. People began to contract anthrax from meat consumption, specifically meat from cattle. As the animal vaccine became more popular, it was noted that the vaccine helped to lower the number of reported human anthrax
Louis Pasteur, in 1881, discovered the anthrax vaccine. Anthrax is an infection caused by many bacteria cells called “Bacillus”. These bacteria make “spores” which have a protective shell. This disease is most common in farm animals. They live in soil, and affect domestic a...
On September 18th and the weeks following, a multitude of letters containing the Bacillus Anthracis bacterium were mailed to various New York news stations. Individuals at 5 different stations became ill with similar symptoms that included vomiting and shortness of breath. This began the nationwide panic known as the Amerithrax Investigation. The Amerithrax investigation was said to be the worst biological attacks in all of US History. Three weeks later, on October 9th, two more letters, containing the anthrax bacterium was mailed to two Democratic senators. In all of the 7 attacks, over 22 people developed infections, over half being life-threatening. The letters themselves confused federal investigators. In the sets of letters addressed to the media, certain T’s and A’s were bolded. When added together, the groups of letters formed 3 codons that corresponded to 3 amino acids. These amino acids pointed federal investigators towards a possible culprit, Bruce Edwards Ivins, a scientist for the US government in Frederick, Maryland.
It all started because Great Britain was afraid that Germany and Japan had a great advantage in biological technology in comparison to them. They were testing to see the range of spread of the anthrax spores. Great Britain tested its weapons on the coast of the Island of Gruinard in Scotland were they thought it was far enough from they coast so it would not contaminate or hurt the mainland. In the year of 1943 throughout many experiments that were conducted it was proven that sheep and cattle were affected with anthrax. The British government thought of decontaminating the island that that meant that they had to brushfire they entire island to kill all of th...