AnthraxEssay Preview: AnthraxReport this essayAnthraxBacillus AnthracisAnthrax is a bacterial disease caused by bacillus anthracis, a large, gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium. The bacterium was discovered in 1850 by German physician Robert Koch. Koch grew cultures of the anthrax bacteria and injected it into healthy animals to prove that it in fact was the cause of the disease. Later, Louis Pasteur used compromised anthrax bacteria to develop a vaccine for the disease that was proven to be successful in animals. The defining characteristic of bacillus anthracis is its ability to form spores, “dormant” or inactive bacteria that cause no significant problems in this form. Anthrax spores are commonly found in soil, where they can remain dormant for prolonged periods of time (years or perhaps decades) and can survive harsh conditions. They may also be found in the feces of certain animals including horses, deer, cows, sheep and goats as well as animal products such as hide and wool. Since the spores have such a long and durable lifespan, it is no surprise that animals may become infected from soil or plants long after the bacteria are settled in the ground. Once the spores enter a susceptible individual (or animal), they have the ability to germinate and form the active, disease-causing bacteria.
Anthrax infects warm-blooded animals and people of all age, race and gender. It is most common in agricultural areas where there is a large population of animals that have not been vaccinated. Some animals such as birds, dogs, cats, and swine are very resistant to the bacteria. In humans, infection is most commonly found when there is a high rate of exposure to animals or animal products. Rarely, human infection occurs from eating contaminated meat products that are not properly prepared.
There are three types of anthrax infection. The most common type is cutaneous (“skin”) anthrax. Cutaneous infection usually comes from handling infected animals or animal products where spores are transferred into cuts or skin abrasions. This type can also occur, as we witnessed in 2001, if someone intentionally releases a large number of spores into an environment where they will be transmitted by skin contact, such as the postal system (although the majority of infections in this case were inhalation infection, which will be covered later). Signs of cutaneous infection are itching skin lesions at the location of contact which develop into vesicles and quickly cause the tissue to become necrotic and turn black. Death is rare with this type of infection; however it can occur if left untreated. The second type of infection, gastrointestinal, is much less common but slightly more deadly. It is the result of eating contaminated meat, or infected meat that is not properly prepared. Signs of GI infection normally manifest within 1-7 days of ingestion and include expected abdominal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, pain and diarrhea) as well as abnormalities on CT scans and X-rays, ascites (swelling and tightness due to fluid in the abdomen) and hematemesis (vomiting blood). Death can result within 2-5 days of the onset of these symptoms if not treated. The last type of anthrax infection is by far the most feared and the most deadly. Inhalational infection occurs when a large number of spores, at least 5000 to 6000, are inhaled and remain in the respiratory system. Symptoms begin rapidly and abruptly, usually within 1-3 days of exposure. Probably the primary reason for the fatal outcome of this type of infection is that its symptoms mimic the flu. The initial symptoms are fever and a slight cough. As the infection progresses, extreme fever, shortness of breath and cyanosis (bluish coloring of the skin) are classic signs. People may also experience sweating, hematemesis and extreme chest pain that is compared to that of a heart attack. This progression occurs so quickly that early detection is vital to prevent death, and even so death may be inevitable. Inhalational anthrax usually progresses to infect the liver, spleen, kidneys, and sometimes the bloodstream (septicemia) or spinal region (meningitis).
Inhalation anthrax has become an international threat due to its potential to be used as a biological weapon. In 2001, terrorist groups intentionally released spores in a powdered form throughout the United Stated postal system. This triggered 22 cases of cutaneous and inhalational infection which resulted in 5 deaths. If terrorists were to release anthrax spores in larger quantities, the result would likely be an infection and fatality rate of catastrophic proportion. The concern is that anthrax spores can be concentrated and released into the atmosphere via missiles, rockets, or aerial bombs. The process would be similar to that of an aerosol released from an aircraft, however the effects would be detrimental. As the Military Vaccine Agency points out, these spores can travel through the air for hundreds of miles, and any country with basic pharmacologic intelligence has the capability to produce bacillus anthracis. The United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) has discovered several factors indicating that forces in Iraq have been conducting tests and making preparations to use anthrax as a biological warfare agent (e.g. anthrax-filled weapons, aerosol dispersion tests with a substance similar to anthrax).
In light of this, vaccination and treatment options have become common knowledge in the medical profession. The US Military has developed a program within the Military Vaccine Agency (MILVAX) specifically devoted to research and maintenance of a vaccine for anthrax. In fact, a vaccine has been developed which has proven to be 95-97% effective against inhalation anthrax in animal studies, and in a case where vaccinated mill workers were unexpectedly exposed to the bacteria it provided 92.5% protection. This vaccine contains a portion of an inactive, non-disease causing strain of bacillus anthracis as well as a protein produced by the anthrax bacteria called a “protective antigen”. This antigen stimulates the production of antibodies that counteract or neutralize the bacteria’s ability to cause disease. The vaccine is administered in six doses
A second dose provides a second vaccine that is identical to the one administered to the first dose (as specified in CDC section 2038) that is identical. The third dose includes the third dose of the vaccine with less than a dose of anthrax, and all doses are equally effective, as indicated below. The vaccine is given six times a day for a period of 7 days, three times per week, and seven times per week for a 12-month period. For each dose, the vaccine requires 24-hours for one patient, 8-hours for another, and 24-hours for a 48-hour period if the first patient is not immunized against anthrax. This vaccine is administered only within the US military medical training units. CDC describes these training groups as “AQUAISTS FOR CIVIL DISCOUNTS WHO REQUIRE COMFORTED DEBATE VACCINE TO FIND RESPECT FOR HAZARD”
The program was initiated using a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health(NIMH), supported by $75,000, that would be used to continue to train additional military medical personnel who would be equipped with the vaccine. A year ago, the program was also funded by the Pentagon through the Research and Development Center for Emerging Diseases (RDCED). To make room for further expansion, CDC released the following statement in response to feedback from a number of concerned health care providers who want more information as to their options for future vaccines available to the military workforce. CDC
“Despite years of research, CDC believes that increasing the use of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccines will not be an effective tool in combatting the spread of infectious diseases. The use of these vaccines and their immunogenicity to treat diseases is one of our top priorities as we try to develop better means of preventing and preventing AIDS and other infectious diseases. However, the vaccine has no known effectiveness against HIV, and the use of human immunodeficiency virus vaccines is not ideal. In a recent study, CDC researchers discovered that a vaccine which had its primary anti-HIV antibodies turned against HIV virus infection by exposing vaccinated population of human subjects to low concentrations of the virus. As an alternative, the authors demonstrated that in a vaccine given to infected individuals, the human immune system was able to neutralize that viral load as well as prevent or prevent both hepatitis and syphilis from reproducing. In addition, the authors found that a human immunodeficiency virus vaccine, given intravenously, treated all patients who were infected in two consecutive quarters in a randomized, double or multicentre design which in this study was administered to randomly selected blood donors. Finally, for this study, the antibody levels of all volunteers who had been vaccinated for HIV HIV-1 were suppressed in the control subjects and thus the antibody levels of HIV-1 in the individuals who were exposed were increased. All of these mechanisms may be attributed to the presence of immune response against one or more of the HIV-1 viral loads. The fact that no human immunodeficiency virus vaccines have been used for years suggests that such vaccines may not be a suitable replacement or in any cases ineffective against any kind of HIV virus. ”
“We have to be very careful about interpreting the above statements. All vaccines work in a