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ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT ANTHRAX Foogle Business |
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ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT ANTHRAX |
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Anthrax - A contagious disease of many animals, including farm livestock, that can be transmitted to man. Caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, it is usually caught by eating contaminated food. The symptoms often appear suddenly, with a rise in temperature, staggering, difficulty in breathing, convulsions, and death. In horses and pigs a more gradual form may occur, with progressive swelling of the throat and neck resulting in breathing difficulties and choking. In many countries the authorities must be notified of any outbreaks. Treatment is with antibiotics and prevention is by vaccination of herds. Man may develop localized swellings after handling infected carcasses or pneumonia from inhaling the bacterial spores (wool sorters’ disease). |
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A National Guardsman stands watch over San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge following possible terrorist threats. (AP Photo) |
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The Anthrax Rules Anthrax is principally a disease of domesticated and wild mammals, particularly herbivorous animals, such as cattle, sheep, horses, mules, and goats. Humans become infected almost incidentally when brought into contact with diseased animals, which can include their flesh, bones, hides, hair and excrement, or anywhere the germ may be lurking. |
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Generally it is accepted that in the main, Cattle get Anthrax, but any mammal is susceptible. |
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Anthrax is caused by the endospore-forming bacterium, Bacillus Anthracis. These bacteria have been found naturally in soil samples from around the world, it is said by some that the spores can lie dormant for up to a thousand years but they are not easily found. |
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Anthrax Spores. Spores can be 3 microns in diameter; a human hair is 25 microns. Spores are so small that they can escape from sealed envelopes through very small gaps and cross-contaminate other 'innocent' mail. |
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![]() Bacillus Anthracis spores and vegetative cells |
Germination. The initial stages in the growth of a seed to form a seedling. The embryonic shoot (plumule) and embryonic root (radicle) emerge and grow upwards and downwards respectively. Food reserves for germination come from *endosperm tissue within the seed and/or from the seed leaves (cotyledons). See also *epigeal; *hypogeal. 2. The first signs of growth of spores and pollen grains. |
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Bacillus Anthracis is classified as a Gram-positive, non-motile, (non-spontaneous movement), spore-forming bacterium. It is capable of growth under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Vegetative cells are 4-8um long x 1-1.5um wide. The spores of Bacillus species, called endospores, and are known to be the most hardy and durable of all resting cells produced in Nature. This is perhaps why they are being used in the present situation. |
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Gram Staining | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Under normal circumstances, in humans, anthrax is fairly rare; the risk of infection is about One in 100,000. One could equate catching Anthrax with that of AIDS; they are both very difficult to catch and will not infect anybody unless it is under erroneous circumstances. |
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The most common form of the disease in humans is cutaneous anthrax, which is usually acquired via injured skin or mucous membranes. A quite minor scratch or abrasion, usually on an exposed area of the face or neck or arms, is invaded by spores from the soil or a contaminated animal or carcass. The spores germinate, vegetative cells multiply, and a characteristic lesion develops at the site. In severe cases, where the blood stream is eventually invaded, the disease may be fatal. The blood stream will carry the disease everywhere around the body, and the body's defenses, plus even any other defense mechanism such as anti-biotics, will not be able to cope with the huge invasion that this would present. |
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Cutaneous Anthrax, is the disease that develops at the skin level. Handling, in the main, large numbers of the spores with skin that is generally damaged, and the damage need only be slight, AND / OR continued handling with skin that seems impervious, can result in an infection. It is best OBVIOUSLY not to handle anthrax spores at all, however, if you feel that it may be inevitable, through some accident, surgical rubber gloves would be necessary to protect you. Under the present circumstances do NOT open or handle an envelope that looks at all suspicious. Be alert at all times. Do NOT open suspicious packages / letters. WASH HANDS and/or SHOWER, AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. USE a STRONG ANTI-BACTERIAL HAND WASH. Have at hand always, a very large zip-lock plastic envelope to seal any suspect package in. Call 911, or 999 if in UK or 123 if in Europe. Consider for several moments who might have sent you such a letter and whether you need to call the authorities. Remember the EMS are presently snowed under with all the calls that they are getting on this subject. Please note that persons receiving infected envelopes at present, are usually government or media bodies. |
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Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, the president's advisor on Homeland Security, said that all the anthrax tested appears to have come from a single source (Photo courtesy The White House)Ridge said that all the anthrax spores tested are from a type known as the Ames strain, named for a bio-weapons research center in Ames, Iowa. The strain, which is used for research in universities around the world, is also used to test vaccines. The "Washington Post" reported Wednesday that the anthrax spores were treated with a chemical additive that allows the spores to remain airborne longer - making it far more likely that those exposed will inhale the dangerous substance and develop the dangerous, often fatal, inhalation form of anthrax. "I can say to you without question, this is anthrax, and the samples from New York, Washington and Florida are all from the same family or strain. That's been documented by DNA testing," Major General John Parks, the commanding general at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrik, Maryland told reporters. "When we look at these spores underneath the microscope, they are uniform in size and highly concentrated, and highly pure," Parks added. "And these individual spores are very light, and if given some energy from, say, wind or clapping or motion of air in a room, they will drift in the air and fall to the ground." "The good news," Parks said, "is that this strain is susceptible to all of the antibiotics that we have in the United States, from penicillin all the way to the most recent advanced quinolines that we have available." Daschle said officials do not know whether the anthrax is coming from one source or multiple sources. "I'm not prepared to tell you today the range of potential actors who could have created as pure and as concentrated and as respirable an anthrax as we are working on and investigating now. I don't know whether it's a large range or a narrow range," Ridge said. But "clearly we are up against a shadow enemy," people who have no regard for human life, and who "are determined to murder innocent people," he said. |
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The letter which brought anthrax to Senator Tom Daschle's office carried the return address of a nonexistent school (Photo courtesy FBI)
Anthrax spores have now affected all three branches of the U.S. government. A letter containing anthrax was received at the office of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, and anthrax spores have been found at mailrooms serving Congress, the White House, and - confirmed late today - the U.S. Supreme Court and the Central Intelligence Agency |
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Another form of the disease, inhalation anthrax, wool-sorters' disease; the most dangerous, results most commonly from inhalation of a spore-containing dust. The spores recognize an environment for a change in the life-cycle and the anthrax cells multiple exponentially. The disease begins abruptly with high fever and chest pain. It progresses rapidly to a systemic hemorrhagic pathology and is often fatal if treatment cannot stop the invasive aspect of the infection. |
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Inhalation Anthrax. This form affects the lungs and these organs become the germination vehicle for rapid growth. Because the lungs are designed to pass on oxygen through the body the cells are easily spread and understandably thrive under these conditions. Fast and powerful anti-biotics are needed very quickly, if the patient is to survive. Symptoms are very similar to that of FLU. Obviously again, it is best not to breathe in the spores in the first place. Under these emergency conditions people must be more than vigilant in staying away from incidents that may lead to an inhalation. In is very very unlikely that anyone under normal circumstances will breathe in these spores but persons, such as postal workers, are now in the firing line as possible victims. It maybe prudent if all citizens carried paint-sprayers masks (and surgical gloves) on their person that may give some initial defense should they ever be in a situation where they know that spores are in the air. |
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Intestinal anthrax is analogous to cutaneous anthrax but occurs on the intestinal mucosa. As in cutaneous anthrax, the organisms probably invade the mucosa through a pre-existing lesion. The bacteria spread from the mucosal lesion to the lymphatic system. Intestinal anthrax results from the ingestion of poorly cooked meat from infected animals. Intestinal anthrax, although extremely rare in developed countries, has an extremely high mortality rate. |
Intestinal Anthrax, the causes above are obvious and because the invading cells grow so quickly and is able to spread the best defense, as in ALL variants, is avoidance. In civilized countries meat is generally of such high standards that any human contamination of anything is highly unlikely. But we must consider sabotage and therefore meat must be cooked for unreasonably longer, at a much higher temperature than before. Consider going vegetarian or using processed food. |
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Meningitis due to B. anthracis is a very rare complication that may result from a primary infection elsewhere. The infectious dose of anthrax organisms is highly variable from animal species to species, and it varies widely dependent on the route of inoculation. The symptoms and clinical manifestations of the disease can be found at: www.gsbs.utmb.edu/microbook/ch015.htm The bacteria are able to invade their animal hosts because they are resistant to the hosts' phagocytic defenses. |
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Phagocyte n. leucocyte capable of engulfing and absorbing foreign matter. [Greek phag- eat, kutos cell]. This is what the white-cells do, they engulf and kill all foreign bodies in the blood stream. |
During and after invasion, the bacteria produce a toxin which has a lethal mode of activity. Death from anthrax in humans or animals frequently occurs suddenly and unexpectedly. The level of the lethal toxin in the circulation increases rapidly quite late in the disease, and it closely parallels the concentration of organisms in the blood. |
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Treatment Antibiotics should be given to unvaccinated individuals exposed to inhalation anthrax. Penicillin, tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones (Cipro) are effective if administered before the onset of lymphatic spread or septicemia, estimated to be about 24 hours. Antibiotic treatment is also known to lessen the severity of disease in individuals who acquire anthrax through the skin. Inhalation anthrax was formerly thought to be nearly 100% fatal despite antibiotic treatment, particularly if treatment is started after symptoms appear. A recent Army study resulted in successful treatment of monkeys with antibiotic therapy after being exposed to anthrax spores. The antibiotic therapy was begun one day after exposure.
Administration can be oral in the form of tablets or even as eye-drops, or by intravenous infusion.
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Prior to 9-11, the anthrax vaccine is produced under contract to the Department of Defense, and only small quantities are made available as needed to civilians who are exposed to anthrax hazards in their work environment, such as veterinarians, lab workers and others. An attempt to immunize 2.5 million members of the military ended three years ago, but that policy is being reevaluated. If the manufacturer receives approval from the FDA, vaccine production will resume. At present great quantities of suitable vaccine is being produced all around the World. Germany is to sell to the USa 300 million anti-biotic tablets at 95 cents each. Johnson & Johnson is to give to the USA Government 100 million doses of its best anti-biotic. Pfizer, had hundreds of millions of doses of VIBRAMYCIN, now in production. ALSO, the US has acquire 250 million doses of Small-Pox vaccine. The anthrax vaccine is a preparation of the protective antigen (a fraction of the toxin) recovered from the culture filtrate of an avirulent, non-encapsulated strain of Bacillus Anthracis. Anthrax immunization consists of three subcutaneous injections given two weeks apart followed by three additional subcutaneous injections given at 6, 12, and 18 months. Annual booster injections of the vaccine are required to maintain a protective level of immunity. |
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The inhalation of anthrax spores can lead to infection and disease. The possibility of creating aerosols containing anthrax spores has made B. anthracis a chosen weapon of bio-terrorism. Iraq, Russia, Korea and as many as ten nations have the capability to load spores of B. anthracis into weapons. Domestic terrorists may develop means to distribute spores via mass attacks or small-scale attacks at a local level. As an agent of biological warfare it is expected that a cloud of anthrax spores would be released at a strategic location to be inhaled by the individuals under attack. Spores of B. anthracis can be produced and stored in a dry form and remain viable for decades in storage or after release. There is no evidence of person-to-person transmission of anthrax. Quarantine of affected individuals is not recommended. Anthrax spores may survive in the soil, water and on surfaces for many years. |
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The U.S. Navy Manual on Operational Medicine and Fleet Support, entitled Biological Warfare Defense Information Sheet states:
Spore destruction requires steam sterilization." It has also been reported that boiling (100 degrees C) for 30 minutes kills endospores of B. anthracis. An infection of local animal populations such as sheep and cattle could follow a biological attack with spores. Infected animals could then transmit the disease to humans through the cutaneous, intestinal or inhalation route by spores from a contaminated animal, carcass or hide. A segment of the U.S. military population has been vaccinated against anthrax. Anthrax vaccine consists of a series of six doses with yearly boosters. The first vaccine of the series must be given at least four weeks before exposure to the disease. This vaccine protects against anthrax that is acquired through the skin and it is believed that it would also be effective against inhaled spores in a bio-warfare situation.
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For a site that believes in the probability that humanity will not last much further than the year 2100, due to a myriad reasons of human self-destruction, we feel that the 9-11 atrocity may pale into insignificance, as the century ticks along to ever increasing atrocities that befall us. Ironically, the use of such strong anti-biotics, such as Cipro, is said to be one likely reason for the demise of humanity. Many eminent scientists believe that the humble common germ will eventually be the downfall for 99% of human life. We have for the last 100 years been waging a war against the common bacteria and have used many ingenious regimes to tackle these infinitesimal creatures. However, due to the fact that the life-cycle of such small cells is measured in hours as opposed to decades for us, there is a far greater propensity for mutation and resistance to any anti-body that we would wish to throw at our small friends. One day it is said that no longer will any anti-body, or protective antigen, work and 99% of us will die and it may be of just the common cold. This why the taking of such drugs must be carefully considered. |
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