Anthrax

In 2001, concentrated anthrax spores were put in to envelopes and mailed with the intent of

harming many people. Anthrax is a very serious disease that is caused by small, one-celled organisms.

It is usually found in animals but can be transmitted to humans through contact with the infected

animal. This disease is able to form dormant spores that have the ability to survive for decades or

centuries in extremely harsh conditions; however, when these spores come in to contact with cuts or

scrapes, inhaled, or ingested, they begin to multiply rapidly. Infected humans are usually quarantined,

though it is not common for anthrax to spread from one infected human to a noninflected human.

The most common way for humans to come in to contact with anthrax is through the skin. Any

open wound can become a breading ground for the spores. If this occurs, a skin lesion will form that

will eventually become an ulcer with a black center. This ulcer is generally pain free but can be itchy.

Cutaneous anthrax is very rarely fatal if treated with antibiotics; however if left untreated, twenty

percent of people with this infection will progress to toxemia and death.

The two more rare ways of acquiring anthrax are from pulmonary or gastrointestinal infections.

Both of these infections are far more serious than the cutaneous infection. Pulmonary infection is

caused by inhaling the spores and consequently is the mode of infection when used as a bioweapon.

This form of infection has a 45% mortality rate, and those who survive can have respiratory problems

for life. A gastrointestinal infection is usually caused by eating undercooked meat from an infected

animals. This can cause vomiting of blood, severe diarrhea, stomach pain, and loss of appetite. The

fatality rate can rage from 25 to 60% depending how soon the treatment starts being administered.

There is a vaccine that is very effective at preventing infections. Antibiotics are also very

capable of curing the disease, but it has to be caught early which can be very tricky as the symptoms

may not appear to be that of an anthrax infection.