Anthrax
It is a life-threatening infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis that normally affects animals, especially cattle, goats, sheep, and horses. This can be transmitted to humans by contact with infected animals or their products.
Causes: The agent of anthrax is a bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. The bacteria secrete toxins composed of three proteins termed lethal factor, protective antigen and edema factor.
Cutaneous anthrax: A cutaneous anthrax infection enters your body through a sore or cut on skin.
Signs and symptoms of cutaneous anthrax:
- Swelling in the sore and nearby lymph glands
- A raised, itchy bump, a painless sore with a black center
Gastrointestinal anthrax: This type of infection begins by eating undercooked meat from an infected animal.
Signs and symptoms include:
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Headache
- Loss of appetite
- Vomiting
- Fever
- Sore throat and difficulty swallowing
- Swollen neck
- Severe, bloody diarrhea
Pulmonary (Inhalation) anthrax: It develops when we breathe in anthrax spores. It's the most deadly way to contract the disease.
Symptoms of inhalation anthrax:
- Coughing up blood
- Mild fever, sore throat, fatigue and muscle aches
- Shortness of breath
- Mild chest discomfort
- Painful swallowing
- Nausea
Injection anthrax: It's contracted through injecting illegal drugs; this is the most recently identified route of anthrax infection.
Signs and symptoms:
- Shock
- Redness at the area of injection (without an area that changes to black)
- Multiple organ failure
- Significant swelling
- Meningitis
Risk factors:
- Handle animal skins, furs or wool
- In the deployed and military area with a high risk of exposure to anthrax
- Due to the injection of illegal drugs, i.e. heroin
- Work with anthrax in a laboratory setting
- Work in veterinary medicine, especially dealing with livestock
Complications: The serious complication of anthrax is fluid covering the brain and spinal cord and inflammation of the membranes, leading to hemorrhagic meningitis and death.
Diagnosis:
- Blood tests: A small amount of blood drawn that's checked in a lab for anthrax bacteria.
- Skin testing: biopsy
- Stool testing: To diagnose gastrointestinal anthrax
- Chest X-ray or computerized tomography (CT) scan
- Spinal tap (lumbar puncture): In this test, a needle is inserted into the spinal canal and withdraws a small amount of fluid. A spinal tap is usually done to confirm the anthrax meningitis.
Prevention and treatment:
- Prevention of anthrax after known exposure-oral antibiotics, such as doxycycline or ciprofloxacin.
- Some cases of injection anthrax were successfully treated with the surgical removal of infected tissue.
- Antibiotics are recommended to prevent infection in anyone exposed to the spores. Ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin doxycycline, vibramycin, monodox, and levaquin.
· Anthrax vaccine: An anthrax vaccine for humans is available but isn't intended for the general public. Instead, it's reserved for scientists working with anthrax, military personnel.
· Avoiding infected animals
