Anthrax
- 1. Anthrax – a biological weapon John Priyanth UOJ
- 2. a gram-positive aerobic Bacillus with both a spore- forming and vegetative form Bacillus anthracis
- 3. Anthrax spores can survive in their dormant state for decades And germinate when they come into contact with a host
- 4. Grams stain • Developed by Danish scientist Hans Christian Gram • A method to differentiate two types of bacteria based on the structural differences in their cell walls.
- 5. • Gram-positive bacteria retain the crystal violet dye do so because of a thick layer of peptidoglycan • Gram-negative bacteria do not retain the violet dye and are colored red or pink
- 6. Back to track ………. • Anthrax spores are resistant to drying, heat, ultraviolet light, gamma radiation, and many disinfectants.
- 7. • Spores are induced to germinate into their vegetative form under favourable conditions • When nutrients are exhausted or the environment is unfavorable, sporulation occurs
- 8. • While most mammals are susceptible, anthrax is typically a disease of ruminants and humans
- 9. Inadequate livestock vaccination coverage and lack of awareness of the risk of anthrax transmission from animal to humans are some major reasons for the unintentional spread of this epidemic
- 10. • In Cattles Infection is usually acquired through the ingestion of contaminated soil, fodder or compound feed.
- 11. Clinical symptoms • Sudden death (often within 2 or 3 hours of being apparently normal) is by far the most common sign.
- 12. • After death blood may not clot, resulting in a small amount of bloody discharge from the nose, mouth and other openings.
- 13. Human anthrax is historically a disease of those with close contact with animals or animal products contaminated with spores
- 14. Hence it was known by the name as “Wool sorter’s” disease
- 15. The term anthrax is derived from the Greek anthracites meaning coal like, referring to the typical black eschar seen in the cutaneous form of the disease.
- 16. An Eschar is a dry, dark scab or falling away of dead skin, typically caused by a burn, an insect bite, or infection with anthrax
- 17. The natural reservoirs of anthrax are domesticated herbivores especially cattle, sheep, and goats
- 18. Pathogenicity The pathogenicity of anthrax is due to both the exotoxins it secretes and the capsule it forms.
- 19. Each encoded by a separate plasmid (pX01 and pX02, respectively). The plasmids are circular, extra chromosomal, double-stranded DNA molecules.
- 20. • PX01codes for three toxin elements (protective antigen, lethal factor, and edema factor)
- 21. which combine to form two binary toxins, i. edema toxin (edema factor + protective antigen)and ii. lethal toxin (lethal factor + protective antigen)
- 22. • Edema toxin acts to upset cellular water homeostasis, which results in the massive edema characteristic of the disease.
- 23. • lethal toxin induces macrophage secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1-beta, which mediate the systemic shock state.
- 24. Disease Transmission: • Anthrax cannot be directly transmitted from human‐to‐human contact. • It is transmitted by the transfer of spores to potential hosts or by exposure to airborne anthrax spores
- 25. • It requires direct contact, inhalation, or ingestion of anthrax cells or spores to acquire an infection.
- 26. • Contact with anthrax bacterial cells or endospores can happen in a variety of ways:
- 27. • Anthrax can enter the body in three ways: through I. the respiratory tract, II. the gastrointestinal tract, and III. the bloodstream
- 28. • Anthrax in the bloodstream, commonly known as cutaneous anthrax, occurs in ninety-five percent of all anthrax cases
- 29. • People who develop cutaneous anthrax usually work with infected animals
- 30. A lesion appears at the site of anthrax inoculation. Although cutaneous anthrax is not extremely fatal, twenty percent of untreated patients die.
- 31. Gastroenteric anthrax occurs when people eat the undercooked meat of anthrax infested animals.
- 32. • People who are infected with gastrointestinal anthrax face digestive troubles and lesions in the mouth and throat. • This anthrax, although rare, is about fifty percent fatal if untreated.
- 33. These may develop into severe abdominal pain, vomiting blood, and bloody diarrhea eventually leading to sepsis and death Early symptoms include •nausea, •vomiting, •anorexia, and •fever;
- 34. •Inhalation anthrax, is the most fatal, resulting in death of ninety percent of untreated patients.
- 35. • In respiratory anthrax, victims initially experience flu-like symptoms which then lead to a breakdown in the respiratory system.
- 36. • Symptoms of inhalation anthrax often begin with fever, headache, cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain • Fever and shock may occur later
- 37. • Recently, another type of anthrax infection has been identified in heroin-injecting drug users in northern Europe.
- 38. • Symptoms may be similar to those of cutaneous anthrax, but there may be infection deep under the skin or in the muscle where the drug was injected.
- 39. • Lots of other more common bacteria can cause skin and injection site infections, • so a skin or injection site infection in a drug user does not necessarily mean the person has anthrax. • Injection anthrax can spread throughout the body faster and be harder to recognize and treat.
- 40. • Bacillus anthracis, or anthrax, has recently become a greatly feared pandemic The breakout of anthrax on American soil in October of 2001 opened the world's eyes to the possibilities of bioterrorism of anthrax
- 41. The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) case name occurred within the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001
- 42. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two Democratic U.S. Senators, killing five people and infecting 17 others
- 44. • The history of anthrax dates back to biblical times in ancient Egypt • In 16th Century B.C., the Israelites were under the control of powerful Ramses II
- 45. • According to Bible, a series of plagues fell upon Egypt in attempt to free the Israelites. One of these plagues involved the death of the cattle, sheep, and goats
- 46. • Many historians believed the cause of death was due to anthrax inhalation
- 47. The first non-livestock case of anthrax occurred in the early 19th Century After coming into contact with anthrax infected animals, many farmers were cutaneously inoculated with anthrax
- 48. This outbreak sparked the scientific research of anthrax
- 49. Written documentation of anthrax began with Robert Koch's discovery of the bacteria that caused anthrax.
- 50. • Using Koch’s discoveries, 20th Century scientists began developing weaponized anthrax • Due to the spores’ durability, anthrax has been a very favorable biological weapon
- 51. What makes Anthrax a popular biological warfare agent • Many countries have a weaponized version of anthrax because anthrax’s stability
- 52. • The spore form of anthrax can easily be loaded as a powder in a freeze-dried condition.
- 53. • From there, terrorists can force anthrax into an aerosol form. • Then, the aerosol would be released in a heavily populated area and everyone who breathed would breathe anthrax spores
- 54. • Because inhalation anthrax is ninety percent fatal, bioterrorists favor the use of aerosolized anthrax. • Anthrax is a very simple biological agent to make because of its low cost, high stability, and its accessibility
- 55. Although anthrax is a very lethal disease, antibiotics do have an effect on Bacillus anthracis If treated immediately, anthrax victims can reduce their risk of death by going to a doctor and getting a series antibiotics
- 56. • Some known agents effective against anthrax are penicillin, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, and erythromycin
- 57. • These antibiotics prevent anthrax from further damaging the human body by inhibiting the dangerous symptoms caused by anthrax.
- 58. Vaccination There are only two vaccines for the anthrax disease One vaccinations consists of a weakened strain of Bacillus anthracis
- 59. • The vaccine is commonly known as Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed • It is widespread among soldiers and veterinarians
- 60. Another anthrax vaccination uses a live spore version of the bacteria A weakened spore is injected into a person in an attempt to build self-immunization
- 61. • However, the spore vaccination’s serious side effects inhibit its use in the world.
- 62. There is currently no recommendation for mass immunization against anthrax
- 63. However, in the event of a bioterrorist event, vaccination is recommended concurrently with antibiotics for both prophylaxis and treatment.
- 64. Bioterrorism • A bioterrorism attack is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, toxins or other harmful agents used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants.
- 65. The agents are typically found in nature, but it is possible that they could be mutated or altered to increase their ability to cause disease,
- 66. make them resistant to current medicines
- 67. Increase their ability to be spread into the environment
- 68. • Biological agents can be spread through the air, water, or in food. • Terrorists tend to use biological agents because they are extremely difficult to detect and do not cause illness for several hours to several days
- 69. History of Anthrax as a bioweapon • First incident was recorded in the first world war • In 1937, Japan tested different biological weapons, including anthrax • On April 2, 1979, anthrax was accidently leaked in a Soviet factory • In 1993, an aerosol containing Bacillus anthracis was released from a cooling tower of c company’s headquarters,Japan
- 70. The lastest anthrax attacks date back to september 2001 when anthrax spores were mailed to US authorities
- 71. • Skin testing • Blood tests • Chest X-ray or computerized tomography (CT) scan • Stool testing If suspected of Anthrax infection, following tests could be done to confirm
- 72. The ability to protect against the use of biological weapons is becoming recognized as one of the paramount security issues faced by several nations
- 73. The need for protective measures against bioterrorism was dramatically evident in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States
- 74. There are various protective measures to bioterrorism that can be divided into three general categories. These are strategic, tactical, and personal measures.
- 75. Strategic deterrence can involve international cooperation
- 76. Tactical measures involve the use of devices or weapons to detect or eliminate potential biological weapons
- 77. Prevention of Anthrax Taking antibiotic medications for anthrax together with proper vaccination confer protection against the Anthrax epidemic.
- 78. However still If you live or travel in a country where anthrax is common and herd animals aren't routinely vaccinated, avoid contact with livestock and animal skins as much as possible
- 79. Also avoid eating meat that hasn't been properly cooked
- 80. Even in developed countries, it's important to handle any dead animal with care & to take precautions when working with or processing imported hides, fur or wool
- 81. Preping for a Bioterrorism attack • The threat of bioterrorism is fundamentally different from other threats we face, such as conventional explosives or even a chemical or nuclear weapon
- 82. • By its very nature, the bioweapons threat, with its close links to naturally occurring infectious agents and disease, requires a different strategy
- 83. • The two most important tools used by public health officials will be isolation and quarantine • Isolation is keeping people known to be ill away from other people and Quarantine is keeping people who may have been exposed away from other people
- 84. • If there has been a bioterrorism attack, the first important step is to get information immediately from the news media as to the right course of action • For some terrorist attacks, it may be correct to try and leave the area; however, for other events, it may be more appropriate to shelter in place
- 85. Reference • Alison Young and Tom Vanden Brook.Egregious safety failures at Army lab led to anthrax mistakes. (2016.Jan 15).Retrived from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/01/15/military- bioterrorism-lab-safety/78752876/ • Dimitrios G. Bouzianas . Medical countermeasures to protect humans from anthrax bioterrorism.Trends in Microbiology .(2009, November );11: 522– 528 • Jason Hayes. Anthrax, Ricin, or Smallpox: Which Are the Deadliest BioterrorismAgents?.(2013,Apr 24). Retrieved From http://www.healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/anthrax-ricin-or- smallpox-which-are-deadliest-bioterrorism-agents-42413 • Sean V. Shadomy, Rita M. Traxler, Chung K. Marston,Anthrax .(2015,July 10).Retrieved from http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2016/infectious-diseases- related-to-travel/anthrax • Stefan riedel, Anthrax: a continuing concern in the era of bioterrorism.BUMC proceedings 2005;18:234–243