American Anthrax Outbreak
Yanik Desai
Anthrax Research Paper
3/31/11
The outbreak I will be studying is the anthrax bioterrorism of 2001. The outbreak began in the Florida Postal Service and spread throughout the entire nation over a short period of time. The epidemic unofficially began on October 4th when there were findings of anthrax in the mail, but the first reported case/illness was on October 12th, 2001. The causative agent of anthrax is Bacillus Anthracis (American Anthrax). Although the anthrax issue was unknown to many before 2001, the bioterrorism opened everyone’s eyes about how deadly anthrax can be.
Bacillus anthracis is the bacterium that causes anthrax and bacillus anthracis is also the scientific name used by scientists. Bacillus anthracis is the aerobic (needs air), spore forming bacteria that grows well in the body, especially on blood. The bacteria grows and lives in the soil, and when livestock graze in the soil, or eat from it, they become infected with anthrax. From the animal, the anthrax is passed to the animal owner and onto the customer. Like I said, anthrax can be transmitted through the food, from skin contact with the bacteria, and by the inhalation of the spores. Although it seems Bacillus anthracis is evil, there is no need to fear because there is a way to inactivate the spore’s success. Three ways are paraformaldehyde vapor, five percent of hypochlorite or phenol solution, or by autoclaving. When spores are in an area full of blood or tissues, they develop more in those areas, causing the bacteria to double and triple in size and the anthrax to become more deadly (Who | Zoonotic Infections).
There are three types of anthrax a person can obtain: cutaneous, gastrointestinal, and inhalation anthrax. Since they all involve different parts of the body, they all have different symptoms. Cutaneous anthrax affects the skin and occurs when people with cuts or sores come in contact with the anthrax bacteria. Inhalation anthrax affects the lungs and occurs when a
Anthrax Research Paper
3/31/11
The outbreak I will be studying is the anthrax bioterrorism of 2001. The outbreak began in the Florida Postal Service and spread throughout the entire nation over a short period of time. The epidemic unofficially began on October 4th when there were findings of anthrax in the mail, but the first reported case/illness was on October 12th, 2001. The causative agent of anthrax is Bacillus Anthracis (American Anthrax). Although the anthrax issue was unknown to many before 2001, the bioterrorism opened everyone’s eyes about how deadly anthrax can be.
Bacillus anthracis is the bacterium that causes anthrax and bacillus anthracis is also the scientific name used by scientists. Bacillus anthracis is the aerobic (needs air), spore forming bacteria that grows well in the body, especially on blood. The bacteria grows and lives in the soil, and when livestock graze in the soil, or eat from it, they become infected with anthrax. From the animal, the anthrax is passed to the animal owner and onto the customer. Like I said, anthrax can be transmitted through the food, from skin contact with the bacteria, and by the inhalation of the spores. Although it seems Bacillus anthracis is evil, there is no need to fear because there is a way to inactivate the spore’s success. Three ways are paraformaldehyde vapor, five percent of hypochlorite or phenol solution, or by autoclaving. When spores are in an area full of blood or tissues, they develop more in those areas, causing the bacteria to double and triple in size and the anthrax to become more deadly (Who | Zoonotic Infections).
There are three types of anthrax a person can obtain: cutaneous, gastrointestinal, and inhalation anthrax. Since they all involve different parts of the body, they all have different symptoms. Cutaneous anthrax affects the skin and occurs when people with cuts or sores come in contact with the anthrax bacteria. Inhalation anthrax affects the lungs and occurs when a
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