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BACILLUS ANTHRACIS

Bacillus anthracis, a spore-forming bacterium that causes the disease anthrax. It can be acquired through contact with an infected animal or products of an infected animal, inhalation of the anthrax spores, ingesting a food contaminated with the bacterium, or through cuts in the skin. People at high risk include handlers of livestock due to a possible infection, veterinarians that treat ill animals, laboratory workers, and individuals exposed to bioterrorism threats or those who work to fight them. Symptoms vary depending on how the infection was acquired. For example, cutaneous anthrax causes black, painless ulcers; inhalation, which is often a form of bioterrorism, presents with flu-like symptoms that can rapidly progress to severe respiratory distress; gastrointestinal anthrax, from eating contaminated food, leads to nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Prevention includes vaccinations for those at highest risk and proper handling of potentially contaminated materials, while treatment involves early detection and administration of antibiotics . Anthrax is also used as a form of bio-terrorism due to its spores being put into envelopes and causing havoc.