Anthrax, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, can exist in spore and vegetative forms, remaining viable for decades. It primarily affects ruminants but can also infect humans through contact with contaminated animals or products, leading to severe health complications and high fatality rates if untreated. The disease has a historical context in bioterrorism, notably following the 2001 attacks in the U.S., leading to heightened awareness and prevention measures against biological threats.

1. Anthrax – a biological weapon
John Priyanth
UOJ

2. a gram-positive
aerobic
Bacillus
with both a spore-
forming and vegetative
form
Bacillus anthracis

3. Anthrax spores can survive in their dormant
state for decades
And germinate when they come into contact
with a host

4. Grams stain
• Developed by Danish scientist Hans
Christian Gram
• A method to differentiate two types of
bacteria based on the structural
differences in their cell walls.

5. • Gram-positive bacteria retain the crystal
violet dye do so because of a thick layer of
peptidoglycan
• Gram-negative bacteria do not retain the
violet dye and are colored red or pink

6. Back to track ……….
• Anthrax spores are resistant to drying, heat,
ultraviolet light, gamma radiation, and many
disinfectants.

7. • Spores are induced to germinate into their
vegetative form under favourable conditions
• When nutrients are exhausted or the
environment is unfavorable, sporulation
occurs

8. • While most mammals are susceptible,
anthrax is typically a disease of ruminants
and humans

9. Inadequate livestock vaccination coverage and
lack of awareness of the risk of anthrax
transmission from animal to humans are some
major reasons for the unintentional spread of
this epidemic

10. • In Cattles Infection is usually acquired
through the ingestion of contaminated soil,
fodder or compound feed.

11. Clinical symptoms
• Sudden death (often within 2 or 3 hours of
being apparently normal) is by far the
most common sign.

12. • After death blood may not clot, resulting in a
small amount of bloody discharge from the
nose, mouth and other openings.

13. Human anthrax is historically a disease of
those with close contact with animals or
animal products contaminated with spores

14. Hence it was known by the name as “Wool
sorter’s” disease

15. The term anthrax is derived from the Greek
anthracites
meaning coal like, referring to the typical
black eschar seen in the cutaneous form of
the disease.

16. An Eschar is a dry, dark scab or falling away of
dead skin, typically caused by a burn, an insect
bite, or infection with anthrax

17. The natural reservoirs of anthrax are
domesticated herbivores
especially cattle, sheep, and goats

18. Pathogenicity
The pathogenicity of anthrax is due to both
the exotoxins it secretes and the capsule it
forms.

19. Each encoded by a separate plasmid (pX01 and
pX02, respectively).
The plasmids are circular, extra chromosomal,
double-stranded DNA molecules.

20. • PX01codes for three toxin elements
(protective antigen, lethal factor, and edema
factor)

21. which combine to form two binary toxins,
i. edema toxin (edema factor + protective
antigen)and
ii. lethal toxin (lethal factor + protective antigen)

22. • Edema toxin acts to upset cellular water
homeostasis, which results in the
massive edema characteristic of the
disease.

23. • lethal toxin induces macrophage
secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha
and interleukin-1-beta, which mediate
the systemic shock state.

24. Disease Transmission:
• Anthrax cannot be directly transmitted
from human‐to‐human contact.
• It is transmitted by the transfer of
spores to potential hosts or by exposure
to airborne anthrax spores

25. • It requires direct contact, inhalation, or
ingestion of anthrax cells or spores to acquire
an infection.

26. • Contact with anthrax bacterial cells or
endospores can happen in a variety of
ways:

27. • Anthrax can enter the body in three
ways: through
I. the respiratory tract,
II. the gastrointestinal tract, and
III. the bloodstream

28. • Anthrax in the bloodstream, commonly
known as cutaneous anthrax, occurs in
ninety-five percent of all anthrax cases

29. • People who develop cutaneous anthrax
usually work with infected animals

30. A lesion appears at the site of anthrax
inoculation.
Although cutaneous anthrax is not extremely
fatal, twenty percent of untreated patients die.

31. Gastroenteric anthrax occurs when people eat
the undercooked meat of anthrax infested
animals.

32. • People who are infected with gastrointestinal
anthrax face digestive troubles and lesions in
the mouth and throat.
• This anthrax, although rare, is about fifty
percent fatal if untreated.

33. These may develop into severe abdominal
pain, vomiting blood, and bloody diarrhea
eventually leading to sepsis and death
Early symptoms
include
•nausea,
•vomiting,
•anorexia, and
•fever;

34. •Inhalation anthrax, is the most fatal, resulting
in death of ninety percent of untreated
patients.

35. • In respiratory anthrax, victims initially
experience flu-like symptoms which
then lead to a breakdown in the
respiratory system.

36. • Symptoms of inhalation anthrax often begin
with fever, headache, cough, shortness of
breath, and chest pain
• Fever and shock may occur later

37. • Recently, another
type of anthrax
infection has been
identified in
heroin-injecting
drug users in
northern Europe.

38. • Symptoms may be similar to those
of cutaneous anthrax, but there may be
infection deep under the skin or in the
muscle where the drug was injected.

39. • Lots of other more common bacteria can
cause skin and injection site infections,
• so a skin or injection site infection in a drug
user does not necessarily mean the person has
anthrax.
• Injection anthrax can spread throughout the
body faster and be harder to recognize and
treat.

40. • Bacillus anthracis, or anthrax, has recently
become a greatly feared pandemic
The breakout of anthrax on American soil in
October of 2001 opened the world's eyes to
the possibilities of bioterrorism of anthrax

41. The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known
as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) case name occurred within
the United States over the course of several
weeks beginning on September 18, 2001

42. Letters containing anthrax spores were
mailed to several news media offices
and two Democratic U.S. Senators,
killing five people and infecting 17
others

44. • The history of anthrax dates back to
biblical times in ancient Egypt
• In 16th Century B.C., the Israelites were
under the control of powerful Ramses II

45. • According to Bible, a series of plagues
fell upon Egypt in attempt to free the
Israelites. One of these plagues
involved the death of the cattle, sheep,
and goats

46. • Many historians believed the cause of
death was due to anthrax inhalation

47. The first non-livestock case of anthrax
occurred in the early 19th Century
After coming into contact with anthrax
infected animals, many farmers were
cutaneously inoculated with anthrax

48. This outbreak sparked the scientific research of
anthrax

49. Written documentation of anthrax began
with Robert Koch's discovery of the bacteria
that caused anthrax.

50. • Using Koch’s discoveries, 20th Century
scientists began developing weaponized
anthrax
• Due to the spores’ durability, anthrax has
been a very favorable biological weapon

51. What makes Anthrax a popular
biological warfare agent
• Many countries have a
weaponized version of
anthrax because anthrax’s
stability

52. • The spore form of anthrax can easily be
loaded as a powder in a freeze-dried
condition.

53. • From there, terrorists can force anthrax
into an aerosol form.
• Then, the aerosol would be released in a
heavily populated area and everyone
who breathed would breathe anthrax
spores

54. • Because inhalation anthrax is ninety percent
fatal, bioterrorists favor the use of
aerosolized anthrax.
• Anthrax is a very simple biological agent to
make because of its low cost, high stability,
and its accessibility

55. Although anthrax is a very lethal disease,
antibiotics do have an effect on Bacillus
anthracis
If treated immediately, anthrax victims can
reduce their risk of death by going to a doctor
and getting a series antibiotics

56. • Some known agents effective against anthrax
are
 penicillin,
 ciprofloxacin,
 doxycycline, and
 erythromycin

57. • These antibiotics prevent anthrax from
further damaging the human body by
inhibiting the dangerous symptoms caused
by anthrax.

58. Vaccination
There are only two vaccines for the anthrax
disease
One vaccinations consists of a weakened strain
of Bacillus anthracis

59. • The vaccine is commonly known as Anthrax
Vaccine Adsorbed
• It is widespread among soldiers and
veterinarians

60. Another anthrax vaccination uses a live spore
version of the bacteria
A weakened spore is injected into a person in
an attempt to build self-immunization

61. • However, the spore vaccination’s serious side
effects inhibit its use in the world.

62. There is currently no recommendation for mass
immunization against anthrax

63. However, in the event of a bioterrorist event,
vaccination is recommended concurrently with
antibiotics for both prophylaxis and treatment.

64. Bioterrorism
• A bioterrorism attack is the deliberate
release of viruses, bacteria, toxins or other
harmful agents used to cause illness or death
in people, animals, or plants.

65. The agents are typically found in nature,
but it is possible that they could be mutated or
altered to
increase their ability to cause disease,

66. make them resistant to current medicines

67. Increase their ability to be spread into the
environment

68. • Biological agents can be spread through
the air, water, or in food.
• Terrorists tend to use biological agents
because they are extremely difficult to
detect and do not cause illness for
several hours to several days

69. History of Anthrax as a bioweapon
• First incident was recorded in the first world war
• In 1937, Japan tested different biological weapons,
including anthrax
• On April 2, 1979, anthrax was accidently leaked in a
Soviet factory
• In 1993, an aerosol containing Bacillus anthracis was
released from a cooling tower of c company’s
headquarters,Japan

70. The lastest anthrax attacks date back to
september 2001 when anthrax spores were
mailed to US authorities

71. • Skin testing
• Blood tests
• Chest X-ray or computerized tomography
(CT) scan
• Stool testing
If suspected of Anthrax infection, following
tests could be done to confirm

72. The ability to protect against the use of
biological weapons is becoming recognized as
one of the paramount security issues faced by
several nations

73. The need for protective measures against
bioterrorism was dramatically evident in
the aftermath of the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks on the United States

74. There are various protective measures to
bioterrorism that can be divided into three
general categories.
These are strategic, tactical, and personal
measures.

75. Strategic deterrence can involve international
cooperation

76. Tactical measures involve the use of devices or
weapons to detect or eliminate potential
biological weapons

77. Prevention of Anthrax
Taking antibiotic medications for anthrax
together with proper vaccination confer
protection against the Anthrax epidemic.

78. However still If you live or travel in a
country where anthrax is common and herd
animals aren't routinely vaccinated, avoid
contact with livestock and animal skins as
much as possible

79. Also avoid eating meat that hasn't been
properly cooked

80. Even in developed countries, it's important
to handle any dead animal with care
&
to take precautions when working with or
processing imported hides, fur or wool

81. Preping for a Bioterrorism attack
• The threat of bioterrorism is fundamentally
different from other threats we face, such as
conventional explosives or even a chemical
or nuclear weapon

82. • By its very nature, the bioweapons threat,
with its close links to naturally occurring
infectious agents and disease, requires a
different strategy

83. • The two most important tools used by public
health officials will be isolation and
quarantine
• Isolation is keeping people known to be ill
away from other people and Quarantine is
keeping people who may have been exposed
away from other people

84. • If there has been a bioterrorism attack, the
first important step is to get information
immediately from the news media as to the
right course of action
• For some terrorist attacks, it may be correct
to try and leave the area; however, for other
events, it may be more appropriate to shelter
in place

85. Reference
• Alison Young and Tom Vanden Brook.Egregious safety failures at Army lab
led to anthrax mistakes. (2016.Jan 15).Retrived from
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/01/15/military-
bioterrorism-lab-safety/78752876/
• Dimitrios G. Bouzianas . Medical countermeasures to protect humans from
anthrax bioterrorism.Trends in Microbiology .(2009, November );11: 522–
528
• Jason Hayes. Anthrax, Ricin, or Smallpox: Which Are the Deadliest
BioterrorismAgents?.(2013,Apr 24). Retrieved From
http://www.healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/anthrax-ricin-or-
smallpox-which-are-deadliest-bioterrorism-agents-42413
• Sean V. Shadomy, Rita M. Traxler, Chung K. Marston,Anthrax .(2015,July
10).Retrieved from
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2016/infectious-diseases-
related-to-travel/anthrax
• Stefan riedel, Anthrax: a continuing concern in the era of
bioterrorism.BUMC proceedings 2005;18:234–243