Anthrax: An Attack on the United States
Anthrax is an acute disease that is caused by a bacteria known as bacillus anthracis. Anthrax most commonly occurs in lower-level vertebrates both wild and domestic, such as cows, goats, sheep, and camels. However, anthrax infection can also occur in humans when they are exposed to animals that are infected, or to tissue from these animals ("Anthrax," 2003). The anthrax infection in humans can take three forms: cutaneous, inhalation, or gastrointestinal. This paper examines the signs and symptoms of anthrax, as well as looks at the circumstances of the most current outbreak of anthrax in the United States.
Anthrax is not very common in the United States, at least not anymore. Anthrax is primarily a disease of agricultural countries where contact with and exposure to animals is a common, daily occurrence. When anthrax infects a human being, it is normally through contact with an infected animal or parts of an infected animal. This sort of contact does not happen in the United States very frequently anymore, as we have become an industrialized nation. In countries that still have an agricultural economy and way of life, however, anthrax infection in humans is much more common.
The cutaneous form of anthrax occurs as an infection of the skin. This type of anthrax is caused by touching animals or animal products with an anthrax infection. The cutaneous form of anthrax is the least serious form of anthrax. The inhaled version of anthrax occurs when a person inhales anthrax spores that are present in infected animal products or in soil that has been exposed to infected animals. The inhaled version of anthrax is the most serious form of the disease. The gastrointestinal version of anthrax occurs by eating undercooked meat from animals with anthrax. This is the rarest form of anthrax that people can contract.
Anthrax has a wide variety of symptoms, depending upon which type of the disease has been contracted. The main symptoms of the three types of anthrax are as follows:
Cutaneous: This is the most common type of anthrax infection seen in humans. About ninety-five percent of human-based anthrax infections are cutaneous infections. These infections occur when the anthrax bacteria enter a cut or abrasion on the skin of a person handling infected animal products or animals. This type of anthrax infection begins as an itchy red bump on the skin. This bump resembles an insect bite. In one to two days, however, this bump becomes a vesicle and then a painless ulcer on the skin. This ulcer is usually one to three centimeters in diameter and normally has a black area of dying tissue in the center of it. Lymph glands surrounding the area of the ulcer will often swell, as well. Without proper treatment, about twenty percent of cutaneous anthrax cases will result in death for the victim. However, with antibiotic treatment, almost all cutaneous anthrax cases can be cured.
Inhalation: A person may test positive for anthrax spores in their nasal passages, but this only indicates they have been exposed to anthrax, not that they will get the disease. By treating an exposed person with antibiotics, infection can actually be avoided entirely. In order for the infection to progress to a full-blown anthrax infection, the anthrax spores in the person's nasal passages must be allowed to germinate ("Medical Encyclopedia," 2003). This process of germination may take anywhere from a few days to up to sixty days to occur. The anthrax spores will move to the lymph nodes where they will release several toxic substances into the victim's system once they germinate. These substances lead to hemorrhaging, swelling, and tissue death.
Inhalation anthrax infection has two main stages. The first stage includes symptoms that resemble a simple cold. However, in a few days, theses symptoms will change to the second stage symptoms, which include severe breathing problems and shock. This form of anthrax is highly fatal, even with antibiotic treatment. Due to the build-up of toxins, this form of anthrax is about ninety percent fatal. However, inhalation anthrax is the most rare form of anthrax.
Gastrointestinal: In this form of anthrax, the lining of the intestines becomes inflamed. The first signs of this type of anthrax are nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. These symptoms will gradually increase to severe abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and diarrhea. Without proper treatment, gastrointestinal anthrax can result in death in twenty to sixty percent of cases ("Anthrax," 2003).
The main treatment for all types of anthrax is antibiotic therapy....
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