The History of Anthrax

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INTRODUCTION

Anthrax is defined as an infectious disease that is caused by a certain type of rod-shaped bacteria called Bacillus anthracis. The name of the bacteria comes from the Greek word for coal, due to the ulcers with dark centers that form on the skin of those with the disease. Carnivorous animals are often infected with the disease, as opposed to humans. However, these animals can transmit the bacteria, Bacillus anthracis, to humans, therefore causing humans to suffer from the same infection.
In 1491 B.C., Anthrax was recorded in the Book of Genesis as the fifth plague. It had been described that the disease was first noticed in animals when it killed an Egyptian cattle. After this had occurred, outbreaks of Anthrax began appearing in civilizations where Hindus, Greeks, and Romans lived. The first recorded outbreaks for humans occurred in European industries, where people worked with wool and bones of dead animals. This happened around the 1800s and was caused by Inhalation Anthrax and Cutaneous Anthrax, two types of the disease. Later, in America, people began to become infected with the disease by handling materials contaminated with animal fibers. In 1881, a Pasteur attempted to create a vaccine that would prevent people from becoming infected with the disease, which was used until later, in 1939 when Max Sterne, an immunologist, created a new one. His vaccine consisted of a spore suspension of a virulent, non-encapsulated live strain of Bacillus anthracis that is still used today.
Anthrax, currently, is commonly found in agricultural regions such as Central and South America, Central and Southwestern Asia, Southern and Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Caribbean. Although this specific disease is not extreme...

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... so to isolate the anthrax, other factors must be added to eliminate the unwanted substances. These unwanted substances could be isolated and disposed of one by one through using different chemicals and materials so that, eventually, the strain of Anthrax can be the only substance left. However, to make sure that Bacillus athracis is the only substance left, qualitative data must be observed and analyzed regarding each of the possible outcomes.

Works Cited

1.http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93496977
2.http://antibioticsfor.com/anthrax.phtml
3.http://anthraxsymptoms.draze.com/
4.http://antibioticsfor.com/anthrax.phtml
5.http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/11/12104010/6
6.http://www.webmd.com/drugs/mono-93-CIPROFLOXACIN+-+ORAL.aspx?drugid=7748&drugname=ciprofloxacin+Oral&pagenumber=2
7.http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Anthrax

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