# Another Anthrax report? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 7, 2001, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-anthrax-report/85878 "2001-10-07T03:23:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![coosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@coosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coosa)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-anthrax-report/85878/21 "2001-10-08T19:41:47Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by EJsGirl \* > \*\* > I ask this question- is there “wild” anthrax? Does it currently exist outside the laboratory? Was it possible for the first man to “catch” it “naturally?”_\* Oh yes, there is “wild” anthrax, and it is possible that the first man caught it ‘naturally’. The fact that the type found is sensitive to penicillin indicates that this isn’t ‘improved’ anthrax from some country’s weapons cache. However, anthrax spores should not have been present in this building. Something unusual has definitely happened, but I won’t jump to the conclusion that it is related to any terrorist activity. Since the first victim was said to be an outdoorsman who was recently on a hiking trip, it’s possible he picked up a contaminated ‘souvenir’ of some kind and brought it to his offices. I’m not sure how feasible this would be as a source of infection, but suppose he picked up a deer antler found near a decomposing carcass? Or dug up an unusual plant that happened to be growing in contaminated soil? Pure speculation on my part, but I hope that it was something of that nature. Anyway, the following is kinda long, but I thought some of you might be interested. It is quoted from _Clinical Textbook for Veterinary Technicians_, 4th edition, published by W. B. Saunders Company in 1998. > [@](#): > > **ANTHRAX > Agent.**_Bacillus anthracis_ is a large, nonmotile, gram-positive rod that forms environmentally resistant endospores when exposed to air. > > **Reservoirs.** Sheep, goats, cows, and other domestic and wild ruminants. > > **Occurrence.** Incidence is worldwide except for the far north and some South Pacific islands, but it varies greatly by region. Anthrax in animals occurs sporadically in Eurasia, North America, and Australia but is endemic in Africa, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and parts of South America. Warm, humid areas tend to have anthrax “hot spots” because heat stress lowers animals’ resistance and the climate encourages sporulation of shed organisms. > > Estimates of human anthrax cases range from 20,000 to 100,000 per year, with most occurring in Africa, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. In the United States, human anthrax is very rare, with only three cases reported between 1984 and 1993. Most cases of anthrax are occupationally acquired; people at greatest risk are veterinarians and animal care workers, abattoir workers, hide tanners, wool processors, and bonemeal producers. > > **Transmission.** Infected animals shed the organism via hemorrages that occur at death, thus contaminating soil with endospores that can remain viable for years. Other animals can become infected by grazing in the contaminated areas. Biting flies may be involved in mechanical transmission of the bacteria. > > There are two forms of human anthrax that are occupationally associated: cutaneous and inhalation. Cutaneous anthrax is acquired when organisms enter broken skin, usually on the hands, arms, or face. Direct contact with tissues or body fluids of diseased animals and exposure to contaminated soil are the most common means of transmission. Inhalation anthrax results from inhaling viable spores that may be present in wool and processed hides of infected animals. A third form, gastrointestinal anthrax, results from eating contaminated undercooked meat and is not associated with any particular occupational exposure. > > (snipped some info concerning Disease in Animals) > > **Disease in Humans.** > _ **Signs and Symptoms** _. Cutaneous anthrax accounts for more than 95% of cases. Within 1 week of inoculation a small, painless, reddish, pruritic papule forms and develops into a fluid-filled vesicle. The area surrounding the lesion becomes edematous, and secondary vesicles may form around the initial site. The typical lesion of cutaneous anthrax is a black eschar that develops after a vesicle ruptures and ulcerates. Most patients recover within 10 days of onset, but in some cases cutaneous anthrax progresses to systemic disease. Disseminated anthrax is rapidly fatal if untreated. > > Inhalation anthrax is almost always fatal. It begins with mild, nonspecific upper respiratory signs, but within 3 to 5 days the patient become acutely ill, with fever, shock, and rapidly progressing respiratory distress. Death occurs within 24 hours of onset of the acute phase. > > _ **Diagnosis.** _ Cutaneous anthrax is easily diagnosed if the disease is considered among the possibilities. Gram staining of the vesicular fluid often reveals large, gram-positive rods, and cultures of the fluid are usually positive for _B. anthracis_ if specimens are collected before antibiotic therapy is begun. > > The diagnosis of inhalation anthrax is much more difficult because early signs mimic a mild, influenza-like infection. Death usually occurs before the diagnosis is made. > > _ **Treatment.** _ Cutaneous anthrax responds well to antibiotic treatment. Inhalation anthrax, however, is often diagnosed too late in the course of teh disease for even massive doses of antibiotics to be effective. It goes on about prevention, which is mostly focused on keeping livestock vaccinated, quarantining outbreaks, proper disposal of carcasses, and tracking and reporting to and by government agencies. Many, many years ago we lost a cow to anthrax, and had to burn the carcass (it took 3 days!). Apparently the vaccine did not ‘take’ in her case or was defective - we and our neighbors had to re-vaccinate our herds. But she was the only casualty and I don’t remember that any of the humans involved were considered to be in danger. At least, I know we weren’t given any shots or prophylactic antibiotics. Scares me a little now, thinking back on it. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-anthrax-report/85878/22 "2001-10-08T19:58:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by coosa \* > **Many, many years ago we lost a cow to anthrax, and had to burn the carcass (it took 3 days!).** Whenever they showed cow carcasses being burned on TV, like for hoof-and-mouth and mad cow, I always wondered what that smelled like. Did it smell good, like a beef barbeque? Or did the “other stuff” like skin and hooves add a bad smell? ---
**Author:** ![coosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@coosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coosa)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-anthrax-report/85878/23 "2001-10-08T20:39:41Z")
Er . . . It smelled awful. It’s really hard to burn an entire 1500 lb. carcass, and you’re not allowed to cut up an anthrax-infected carcass because it will release more spores. We made a ‘pyre’ of old railroad crossties and such, used the tractor to drag the body on top of it, then piled more wood on top. Soaked the whole thing in diesel fuel and lit it up. Added anything else that would burn as the original materials were used up. The fire would die down to coals overnight, and we would rebuild and restart it every morning. While there were occasional ‘whiffs’ of BBQ, the primary smell was of old tires burning. ---
**Author:** ![zzt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/f6c823/32.png) [@zzt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zzt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-anthrax-report/85878/24 "2001-10-08T21:52:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Cutaneous anthrax accounts for more than 95% of cases … Most patients recover within 10 days of onset, but in some cases cutaneous anthrax progresses to systemic disease. So cutaneous anthrax is usually survived, correct? ---
**Author:** ![coosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@coosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coosa)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-anthrax-report/85878/25 "2001-10-08T23:06:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zzt \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Cutaneous anthrax accounts for more than 95% of cases … Most patients recover within 10 days of onset, but in some cases cutaneous anthrax progresses to systemic disease. > > So cutaneous anthrax is usually survived, correct? \*\* Well, according to all of the sources I’ve checked, yes. Inhalation anthrax is the really deadly one. However, I wouldn’t gamble on surviving cutaneous anthrax without antibiotic therapy - and I don’t know what the survival rate might be if you were infected by one of the ‘engineered’ versions developed as biological weapons. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-anthrax-report/85878/26 "2001-10-08T23:15:13Z")
Its the revenge of Bat Boy! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-anthrax-report/85878.md?page=1)