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The agent of anthrax is a bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. Under a microscope, the bacteria looks like large rods. However, in the soil, where they live, anthrax organisms exist in a dormant form called spores. These spores are very hard and difficult to destroy. The spores have been known to survive in the soil for as long as 48 years.
Anthrax infects humans in three ways. The most common is infection through the skin.
Humans and animals can ingest anthrax from carcasses of dead animals that have been contaminated with anthrax. Ingestion of anthrax can cause serious, sometimes fatal disease.
The most deadly form is inhalation anthrax. If the spores of anthrax are inhaled, they migrate to lymph glands in the chest where they proliferate, spread, and produce toxins that often cause death.
Preventing anthrax
- Follow known public -health measures thus:
- Do not eat meat that has not been properly slaughtered and cooked.
- Do not work with raw animal hides, fur or skin, especially those of goats, sheep, or cows.
- If you were in an area thought to contain anthrax spores, it may help to wash your skin and hair thoroughly with soap and water.
- It may also help to change and wash your clothing, or if you cannot wash your clothes immediately, put them in a plastic bag to keep them separate from your other things.
- Get vaccination against anthrax. There is a vaccine available for people at high risk (such as veterinarians, laboratory technicians, employees of textile mills processing imported goat hair, and members of the armed forces).
- Prevention of anthrax in humans is primarily dependent on the control of the disease in animals.
Sources : http://www.sfcdcp.org/anthrax.html http://www.uptodate.com/contents/prevention-of-anthrax
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