https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3 Caused by Bacillus anthracis en-us 2023-03-15 18:24:49 UTC 2025-11-29 15:59:36 UTC hello@padlet.com boobearlund99 https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2522425838 2023-03-19 18:49:16 UTC https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2522425838 boobearlund99 https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2529477459 Anthrax is a infectious disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, this is a type of bacteria. Humans usually can contract this disease through contact with diseased cattle and other livestock, the spores are resilient and infect easily. Luckily, this disease is not contagious. 

Anthrax is usually found in developing countries where the livestock is not properly vaccinated against Bacillus anthracis spores. The spores are found in the soil and are eaten by grazing animals, this is how they get infected. Unfortunately, this bacteria is found worldwide and is believed to have originated somewhere around Egypt. Fun fact, they believe anthrax is mentioned in Genesis as one of the 10 plagues.

Infectious disease: A disease caused by the entrance into the body of pathogenic agents or microorganisms which grow and multiply there.]]> 2023-03-23 21:17:10 UTC https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2529477459 boobearlund99 https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2529482163 This was a major source for the information I shared in the post above.]]> 2023-03-23 21:23:21 UTC https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2529482163 boobearlund99 https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2538967953 While Anthrax did originate in the Middle East and African area, there are cases of outbreaks that span around the whole world. Due to this diseases ability to travel along with cattle and untreated products made from cattle it has made its way to about every country. At different periods in time there are outbreaks in different areas.

Luckily, there are ways to help prevent Anthrax. Products are treated for Bacillus anthracis spores, a process that destroys the spores. This has decreased the severalty of cases in many countries.

Wars have a big impact on this disease. Since products must be treated for Bacillus anthracis, there are times, in war, when countries cannot have products treated. This is due to having strenuous relationships between countries and goods must be purchased from alternative sources or when goods cannot be transported to places where they are properly treated. There are also times when Anthrax has been used to infect people during war, like a bioweapon. 

In outbreaks of Anthrax, there are varying results when it comes to recovery. What is consistent is that there are always casualties as a result of these outbreaks. In the 20th century there were large outbreaks that resulted in a lot of casualties. In the link provided, there is a quick timeline of the spread and outbreaks of Anthrax. There is also some information on it's use as a bioweapon as well.]]> 2023-03-30 21:18:21 UTC https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2538967953 boobearlund99 https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2548080309 Anthrax is very virulent, though there are some cases where the spores are more virulent than others. There is Cutaneous anthrax which is a less virulent form of Anthrax while systemic anthrax can result in sudden death and had mortality rate close to 100%. Luckily, Cutaneous anthrax is far more common and can be treated. Unfortunately, this disease has maintained it's high virulence due to being a zoonosis and doesn't take part in human-to-human transmission. This disease is targeted for grazing herbivores and thus, will continue to have high virulence for humans since we are not a target host. The link provided leads to an article that talks about the toxins generated by Bacillus anthracis and the symptoms caused by the disease.

As time has passed and we have developed ways to lessen exposure to Bacillus anthracis spores, there have been less cases of systemic anthrax cases. 

Virulence: The ability of a pathogen to overcome the host's defenses and cause damage or harm to the host. Can be seen through signs or symptoms caused by the pathogen.]]> 2023-04-09 18:30:36 UTC https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2548080309 boobearlund99 https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2555998464 There are multiple ways to treat for Anthrax, depending on the way in which an individual is infected and on the persons age and health. Usually, the treatment involves antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, and/or levofloxacin) for a designated amount of time (~60 days). For inhalation there are a couple antitoxin therapies (raxibacumab and obiltoxaximab) that are now being used, before there was no way to treat for the inhalation of Bacillus anthracis. This type of treatment targets the toxins that the spores create rather than targeting the spores themselves. There has been some tests on how to treat people who are injected with Anthrax by the removal of infected tissue.

Some tests, in the past, have need done on a working Anthrax vaccine, there is currently only one vaccine available.

It is best to keep in mind that, for the best chances of survival, seek treatment as soon as possible. If someone is severely infected by Anthrax there is no guarantee that any treatments available will help.]]> 2023-04-16 21:00:29 UTC https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2555998464 boobearlund99 https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2564398850 There are work space instructions in place to deal with the event of Bacillus anthracis spores. This is outlined in OSHA guidelines provided for those who work in such places. In an event where the general public is exposed to Anthrax, on a large scale, there are precautions to supply antibiotics to places in the community called points of dispensing (PODs) where everyone is able to get the help they need.

There are cases, in the past, Anthrax has been used as a bioweapon. In such cases there are monitoring systems that look for the release of diseases into the public, such as unusual patterns of illness. Once a outbreak is confirmed the proper antibiotics would be sent out to PODs.

By looking at the preparations I have found for an Anthrax outbreak, it seems to be a decent setup. While it would be nice to think that there are ways to monitor or prevent Anthrax from getting to that point, that is not an option. An outbreak cannot be foretold without it being preplanned.]]> 2023-04-22 23:56:59 UTC https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2564398850 boobearlund99 https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2567436284 As I have stated in earlier posts, Anthrax is a rare disease and fairly well prevented in today's society. For these reasons there are little effects on society as a result of Anthrax. There are some preventative measures if there was ever a widespread outbreak of this disease, but beyond that there are no other effects on society (that I have found as of yet). 

Society has learned how to deal with preventing the spread of Bacillus anthracis to the human population. However, there have been some problems in the past with anthrax spreading due to a countries inability to get products properly treated during war times. This results in the countries having to take the time to find an alternate supplier that can properly treat products before they are shipped out.

There are also concerns of anthrax being used as a bioweapon. There is limited information about this topic, but from what I can gather the PODs I mentioned in the last post are the preventative measures to help people in cities that are infected by this disease.]]> 2023-04-25 15:30:04 UTC https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2567436284 boobearlund99 https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2573028537 Throughout my course on the evolution of disease, I have come across many instances were I was excited to connect the content I was learning in class with what I was finding out about in this disease. It is easy to be told about how diseases in our world behave, it is a different experience to look into a specific disease and see how it's behavior has an effect. For example, looking into how infectious the disease is and how it is spread. I was intrigued by what I found and how the content I learned could be connected to my short research.

The most surprising thing I learned about when looking into the history of Anthrax is that it is suspected to be related to one of the plagues mentioned in the biblical book of Genesis. While I suspect it's not the same exact disease I do think, if its true, it is a ancestor to the modern Bacillus anthracis.

While the posts I created here about Anthrax cover quite a bit about the disease and treatment, it doesn't cover all the information out there about this disease. Looking back at this list of posts. I think it would have been interesting to include a section about how Anthrax was used as a bioweapon. Were there any modifications to the genome made by humans to make Anthrax a more efficient weapon? I don't have an answer here, but to anyone who is interested in the answer, it is up to you now to find it.]]> 2023-04-30 16:53:09 UTC https://padlet.com/boobearlund99/mkr3uwpywnjk1xf3/wish/2573028537