Anthrax Disease - Signs, Symptoms, Treatment and Picture of anthrax vaccine

Anthrax a serious infectious disease of cattle and sheep, which can be transmitted to humans and is caused by a BACILLUS, B. anthracis. The spores of the bacillus remain viable for many years and are resistant to destruction.

Anthrax is most common in agricultural regions where it occurs in animals. These include South and Central America, Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. When anthrax affects humans, it is usually due to an occupational exposure to infected animals or their products.

People can be infected by handling contaminated skins, fleeces and bones, and the spores may either be inhaled or enter through a cut in the skin.

The danger is increased if the infected skins are dry so that spores and dust are inhaled. the disease takes two forms in human beings, either affecting the lungs (if the spores are inhaled), causing pheumonia (woolsorter's disease), or the skin (if infected through a cut), known as malignant pustule, a severe ulceration.

The licensed anthrax vaccine, termed Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (or AVA) is recommended for individuals who may come in contact with animal products that may be contaminated with Bacillus anthracis spores and for individuals engaged in diagnostic or investigational activities which may bring them in contact with Bacillus anthracis spores. It is also recommended for persons at high risk, such as veterinarians and others handling potentially infected animals.

What are the symptoms of anthrax?

Symptoms of disease vary depending on how the disease was contracted, but symptoms usually occur within 7 days. Anthrax is not known to spread from one person to another person. Communicability is not a concern in managing or visiting with patients with inhalation anthrax.