Anthrax
17 November 2016
Alyssa, Sylvia, Alnino, Sara, Maggie
A history Sylvia Yakoo
Fun fact: The name anthrax comes from the Greek word for coal and refers to
the black lesions on the skin that it produces.
Microbiology
● Anthrax is caused by Bacillus
anthracis is a Gram-positive
bacteria
● Encapsulated
● Spore-forming
● Nonmotile rod
● Spores are the main
infectious form
● Aerobic
By Sara McElroy
Microbiology
● Spores are extremely
small → they can travel
all the way to the
alveoli in the lungs
● Spores travel to the
lymph nodes and
mature into Anthrax
bacteria
● Mature bacteria will
release toxins
Microbiology
B. anthracis has three main virulence factors:
● A poly-D-glutamic acid capsule (to protect it from
phagocytosis)
● Three proteins that combine into two protein exotoxins
● Edema factor (EF)
● Lethal factor (LF)
● Protective antigen (PA)
PA + EF Edema toxin
PA + LF Lethal toxin
Epidemiology
Incidence:
● U.S.: naturally-acquired anthrax is extremely rare (~ 1-2 cases of cutaneous
disease per year).
○ Gastrointestinal anthrax is rare, but may occur as explosive outbreaks associated with
ingestion of infected animals.
● Worldwide: unknown due to unreliable reporting, but is more common in:
○ agricultural regions of Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa,
central and southwestern Asia, southern and eastern Europe, the
Caribbean.
○ developing countries
○ countries that do not have veterinary public health programs that
routinely vaccinate animals
By Alyssa Zlotnicki
Diagnosis
● Depends on:
○ Culture and isolation of B. anthracis
○ Detection of bacterial DNA, antigens, toxins
○ Detection of a host immune response to B.anthracis (serologic
testing).
● Need to perform confirmatory testing, which includes one
of:
○ isolate identification
○ antigen detection in tissues
○ quantitative serology
● Collect specimens for culture before antimicrobial therapy.
● Special Diagnostic procedures for inhalation anthrax:
○ thoracic imaging studies to detect a widened mediastinum or pleural effusion.
Two ways:
● Reflecting the route by which the disease was acquired
○ Cutaneous anthrax (95-99%),
■ acquired through skin lesion
■ case fatality with appropriate treatment: <1%
○ Ingestion (gastrointestinal, oral route) anthrax
■ contracted following ingestion of contaminated food, primarily meat
from an animal that died of the disease.
■ case fatality: 25%-60% (estimation)
○ Inhalational (pulmonary) anthrax, from breathing in airborne anthrax
spores.
■ case-fatality rates high even with appropriate antibiotics and
supportive care (85% 20th century, 45% (5/11) post 2001)
Transmission Classification
Occupation
○ nonindustrial anthrax
■ farmers, butchers, knackers/renderers, veterinarians, etc.,
■ Usually cutaneous (infected carcasses)
■ parallels seasonal incidence in animals it is contracted from
■ insect bite transmission
■ alimentary canal infection (infected meat)
● industrial anthrax
■ people employed in the processing of bones, hides, wool, other
animal products
■ usually cutaneous
■ inhalation anthrax much more likely to be industrial than
non-industrial (result of dust being able to contain many spores)
Anthrax is seasonal and affects animals
● Sporadic outbreaks occur in grazing animals such as cattle or deer.
○ Sporulated forms shed by an animal dying or dead from anthrax generally provide the source
of infection of other animals (ingestion, possibly inhalation anthrax)
● Tends to occur after hot, dry spells that follow heavy rains or flooding
● Modes of action:
○ Affects animal directly
■ influences way in which it makes contact with the spores
■ grazing closer to the soil in dry periods, forced to by lack of water
○ Affects animal indirectly
■ affects general health and level of resistance of animal to infection
■ affects ability of B. anthracis to germinate/sporulate.
In the United States, yearly vaccination of livestock is recommended in areas
where animals have had anthrax in the past.
Clinical Presentation of Signs and Symptoms
● 1 day-2 month incubation period
● Depends on infection type
○ All types cause severe illness/death if left untreated (pneumonia, blood infection)
By Alnino Guarino
Cutaneous Anthrax (Most Common, Least
Dangerous)
● Small blisters/bumps (may itch)
● Swelling around sore
● Painless skin sore (ulcer) on the face, neck, arms, hands
Inhalation Anthrax (Most Deadly)
● Fever/chills
● Chest discomfort
● Shortness of breath
● Cough
● Nausea, vomiting, stomach pains
● Fatigue/body aches
Injection Anthrax (Never Been Reported)
● Small blisters near injection site
● Painless skin sore w/ black center
● Swelling around sore
● Abscesses
GI Anthrax (Rare)
● Swelling of neck
● Sore throat
● Nausea/vomiting
● Diarrhea
● Stomach swelling/pain
● Flushing
Control
● Detection/Response to emergency (act of bioterrorism)
○ Samples to Laboratory Response Network (LRN)
○ Deployment of field staff
○ Mass shipment of medicine
○ Communication of life-saving information to the public
● Antibiotics (taken for 60 days)
○ Ciprofloxacin
○ Doxycycline
● Vaccines
○ Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA)
○ Not available to public (can become publically available in an emergency)
Also by Alnino Guarino
Discussion of Article Maggie Crawford
What Happened?
Seven butchers participated in the slaughtering of sick cows & began to have skin swelling 3 days later
- 2 butchers were eventually diagnosed w/ anthrax. Others borderline. All patients became stable
The slaughtered cows had been taken to Jiangsu Province
- Liaoning Province started having anthrax-infected cows popping up AND anthrax- infected people
35 cases of anthrax infection were reported from Aug-Sept 2012
- 7 in humans, 28 in cows
Isolated a strain of anthrax from a dead cow and named it “Han”
What To Do?
1. Rule out that the vaccine strain is causing the outbreak
- Injected Vac strain into mice and saw no death
2. Track the source of the anthrax outbreak
3. Rule out the possibility of a terrorist attack
How To Do It?
Used genomic sequencing to look at similarities and differences between Han
and Vac
- SNP is less discriminatory, but adequate for phylogenetic reconstruction
- MLVA can distinguish between closely related strains, less effective for
molecular phylogeny
→ Different methods were used for different purposes
(emergencies VS suspected bioterrorism)
What Did They Learn?
SNP results: Han strain was markedly different from Vac strain
MLVA results: Han clustered with previously reported Chinese strains
- Han strain is naturally occurring isolate
+ NOT an engineered agent used for terrorism
Why Is This Important?
- Set groundwork for future outbreak responses
- Set groundwork for future epidemiology studies
HOW?
References
https://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/index.html
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2016/infectious-diseases-related-to-travel/a
nthrax
http://mmg-240-2014-structural-biology.wikia.com/wiki/Patrick:_Anthrax_Toxin:_Biolo
gical_Function
http://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/anthrax_webs.pdf
http://www.sfcdcp.org/anthrax.html
http://addiandcassi.com/anthrax-bacteria-killed-by-simple-sugar-compound-called-cy
clodextrin-is-cdc-looking-into-this/
References continued
http://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/resources/history/
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/05/28/live-anthrax-spores-possibly-sent-
to-stanford-lab-cdc-now-analyzing/

Anthrax

  • 1.
    Anthrax 17 November 2016 Alyssa,Sylvia, Alnino, Sara, Maggie
  • 2.
    A history SylviaYakoo Fun fact: The name anthrax comes from the Greek word for coal and refers to the black lesions on the skin that it produces.
  • 3.
    Microbiology ● Anthrax iscaused by Bacillus anthracis is a Gram-positive bacteria ● Encapsulated ● Spore-forming ● Nonmotile rod ● Spores are the main infectious form ● Aerobic By Sara McElroy
  • 4.
    Microbiology ● Spores areextremely small → they can travel all the way to the alveoli in the lungs ● Spores travel to the lymph nodes and mature into Anthrax bacteria ● Mature bacteria will release toxins
  • 5.
    Microbiology B. anthracis hasthree main virulence factors: ● A poly-D-glutamic acid capsule (to protect it from phagocytosis) ● Three proteins that combine into two protein exotoxins ● Edema factor (EF) ● Lethal factor (LF) ● Protective antigen (PA) PA + EF Edema toxin PA + LF Lethal toxin
  • 6.
    Epidemiology Incidence: ● U.S.: naturally-acquiredanthrax is extremely rare (~ 1-2 cases of cutaneous disease per year). ○ Gastrointestinal anthrax is rare, but may occur as explosive outbreaks associated with ingestion of infected animals. ● Worldwide: unknown due to unreliable reporting, but is more common in: ○ agricultural regions of Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa, central and southwestern Asia, southern and eastern Europe, the Caribbean. ○ developing countries ○ countries that do not have veterinary public health programs that routinely vaccinate animals By Alyssa Zlotnicki
  • 7.
    Diagnosis ● Depends on: ○Culture and isolation of B. anthracis ○ Detection of bacterial DNA, antigens, toxins ○ Detection of a host immune response to B.anthracis (serologic testing). ● Need to perform confirmatory testing, which includes one of: ○ isolate identification ○ antigen detection in tissues ○ quantitative serology ● Collect specimens for culture before antimicrobial therapy. ● Special Diagnostic procedures for inhalation anthrax: ○ thoracic imaging studies to detect a widened mediastinum or pleural effusion.
  • 8.
    Two ways: ● Reflectingthe route by which the disease was acquired ○ Cutaneous anthrax (95-99%), ■ acquired through skin lesion ■ case fatality with appropriate treatment: <1% ○ Ingestion (gastrointestinal, oral route) anthrax ■ contracted following ingestion of contaminated food, primarily meat from an animal that died of the disease. ■ case fatality: 25%-60% (estimation) ○ Inhalational (pulmonary) anthrax, from breathing in airborne anthrax spores. ■ case-fatality rates high even with appropriate antibiotics and supportive care (85% 20th century, 45% (5/11) post 2001) Transmission Classification
  • 10.
    Occupation ○ nonindustrial anthrax ■farmers, butchers, knackers/renderers, veterinarians, etc., ■ Usually cutaneous (infected carcasses) ■ parallels seasonal incidence in animals it is contracted from ■ insect bite transmission ■ alimentary canal infection (infected meat) ● industrial anthrax ■ people employed in the processing of bones, hides, wool, other animal products ■ usually cutaneous ■ inhalation anthrax much more likely to be industrial than non-industrial (result of dust being able to contain many spores)
  • 11.
    Anthrax is seasonaland affects animals ● Sporadic outbreaks occur in grazing animals such as cattle or deer. ○ Sporulated forms shed by an animal dying or dead from anthrax generally provide the source of infection of other animals (ingestion, possibly inhalation anthrax) ● Tends to occur after hot, dry spells that follow heavy rains or flooding ● Modes of action: ○ Affects animal directly ■ influences way in which it makes contact with the spores ■ grazing closer to the soil in dry periods, forced to by lack of water ○ Affects animal indirectly ■ affects general health and level of resistance of animal to infection ■ affects ability of B. anthracis to germinate/sporulate. In the United States, yearly vaccination of livestock is recommended in areas where animals have had anthrax in the past.
  • 12.
    Clinical Presentation ofSigns and Symptoms ● 1 day-2 month incubation period ● Depends on infection type ○ All types cause severe illness/death if left untreated (pneumonia, blood infection) By Alnino Guarino
  • 13.
    Cutaneous Anthrax (MostCommon, Least Dangerous) ● Small blisters/bumps (may itch) ● Swelling around sore ● Painless skin sore (ulcer) on the face, neck, arms, hands
  • 14.
    Inhalation Anthrax (MostDeadly) ● Fever/chills ● Chest discomfort ● Shortness of breath ● Cough ● Nausea, vomiting, stomach pains ● Fatigue/body aches
  • 15.
    Injection Anthrax (NeverBeen Reported) ● Small blisters near injection site ● Painless skin sore w/ black center ● Swelling around sore ● Abscesses
  • 16.
    GI Anthrax (Rare) ●Swelling of neck ● Sore throat ● Nausea/vomiting ● Diarrhea ● Stomach swelling/pain ● Flushing
  • 17.
    Control ● Detection/Response toemergency (act of bioterrorism) ○ Samples to Laboratory Response Network (LRN) ○ Deployment of field staff ○ Mass shipment of medicine ○ Communication of life-saving information to the public ● Antibiotics (taken for 60 days) ○ Ciprofloxacin ○ Doxycycline ● Vaccines ○ Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA) ○ Not available to public (can become publically available in an emergency) Also by Alnino Guarino
  • 18.
    Discussion of ArticleMaggie Crawford
  • 19.
    What Happened? Seven butchersparticipated in the slaughtering of sick cows & began to have skin swelling 3 days later - 2 butchers were eventually diagnosed w/ anthrax. Others borderline. All patients became stable The slaughtered cows had been taken to Jiangsu Province - Liaoning Province started having anthrax-infected cows popping up AND anthrax- infected people 35 cases of anthrax infection were reported from Aug-Sept 2012 - 7 in humans, 28 in cows Isolated a strain of anthrax from a dead cow and named it “Han”
  • 20.
    What To Do? 1.Rule out that the vaccine strain is causing the outbreak - Injected Vac strain into mice and saw no death 2. Track the source of the anthrax outbreak 3. Rule out the possibility of a terrorist attack
  • 21.
    How To DoIt? Used genomic sequencing to look at similarities and differences between Han and Vac - SNP is less discriminatory, but adequate for phylogenetic reconstruction - MLVA can distinguish between closely related strains, less effective for molecular phylogeny → Different methods were used for different purposes (emergencies VS suspected bioterrorism)
  • 22.
    What Did TheyLearn? SNP results: Han strain was markedly different from Vac strain MLVA results: Han clustered with previously reported Chinese strains - Han strain is naturally occurring isolate + NOT an engineered agent used for terrorism
  • 23.
    Why Is ThisImportant? - Set groundwork for future outbreak responses - Set groundwork for future epidemiology studies HOW?
  • 24.
  • 25.