Clinical Microbiology: Open Access

Anthrax Disease and its Management

James McIntosh^* Department of Critical Care Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, USA
^*Correspondence: James McIntosh, Department of Critical Care Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, USA, Email:

Received: 01-Jun-2022, Manuscript No. CMO-22-17352; Editor assigned: 06-Jun-2022, Pre QC No. CMO-22-17352(PQ); Reviewed: 22-Jun-2022, QC No. CMO-22-17352; Revised: 27-Jun-2022, Manuscript No. CMO-22-17352(R); Published: 04-Jul-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2327-5073.22.11.289

Description

The spore-forming bacteria Bacillus anthracis is the source of the uncommon but dangerous infection known as anthrax. Livestock and wild game are primarily impacted by anthrax. Through direct or indirect contact with ill animals, humans can contract an infection. Although there is no proof that anthrax spreads from person to person, it is possible that skin lesions caused by the disease could spread via direct contact or contact with a contaminated material (fomite). Anthrax bacteria typically enter the body through a skin wound. Additionally, eating tainted meat or inhaling the spores might cause infection. Skin sores, vomiting, and shock are examples of signs and symptoms that vary depending on how you contracted the infection. Most anthrax infections can be cured with prompt antibiotic treatment. Anthrax that is inhaled is extremely dangerous and potentially lethal.

In the developed world, anthrax is quite uncommon. The fact that the bacteria have been utilized in bioterrorism assaults in the US, however, means that the illness still poses a threat. Anthrax bacteria, which are present naturally in soil throughout the majority of the planet, produce anthrax spores. Before entering a host, the spores can lay dormant for many years. Livestock, such as sheep, cattle, horses, and goats, can serve as common hosts for anthrax. Anthrax is still widespread throughout the poor world, particularly in regions like Central America, South America, sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, southwest Asia, southern Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean, even if it is uncommon in the United States.

The majority of anthrax cases in humans are brought on by contact with infected animals, their meat, or their skins. A few Americans who made traditional African drums from contaminated animal skins have contracted anthrax as a result. After being exposed to anthrax spores transmitted through the mail, twenty-two persons became ill and five of them passed away. In two separate epidemics more recently, heroin addicts in Europe contracted anthrax by injecting illegal substances. Samples taken from skin lesions, respiratory secretions, or blood are used to diagnose anthrax. To find out if the samples contain the bacteria that cause anthrax, the samples are sent to a lab. Typically, the findings are available two days after the sample was obtained.

If a person has come into contact with the bacteria that cause anthrax, it can be determined through blood tests. The body's immune system will have created antibodies (proteins that combat substances it perceives as foreign) against the bacteria, and they can be found by a laboratory test. The bacteria that cause anthrax can be ingested without making a person ill. Your doctor will assess your exposure risk.

However, if a test is positive, the individual should be treated for anthrax in case the infection is still in its early stages and no symptoms have yet appeared. Anthrax is typically curable with early treatment. Common antibiotics including penicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin (Ilotycin, Ery-Ped, Ery-Tab), and ciprofloxacin can be used to treat the cutaneous (skin) variant of anthrax (Cipro). A medical emergency exists with anthrax in the pulmonary type. Antibiotic intravenous therapy administered early and frequently could save lives. Individuals exposed to anthrax in a bioterrorism strike will receive antibiotics before they become unwell. Although a vaccination exists, it has not yet been made widely accessible. The majority of specialists believe that exposed people who are the victims of a bioterrorist attack will also receive the vaccine. A sickness that must be reported is anthrax. This means that if a case of anthrax is identified, local or state health authority must be notified. These organizations can provide a more accurate description of the anthrax, enabling the affected person to obtain the best suitable care.

People who have been exposed to aerosolized spores (for example, during bioterrorism attacks or scares) can take part in postexposure anthrax prevention. The FDA advises using levofloxacin (Levaquin, Quixin, Iquix), ciprofloxacin (Doryx, Oracea, Monodox), doxycycline (Doryx, Oracea, Monodox), and parenteral procaine penicillin G. A three-dose series of the anthrax vaccine should also be started as soon as feasible following exposure, in addition to these antibiotics.

We have observed the rise of anthrax-related diseases in novel situations over the course of three interconnected geographical levels since the advent of bacteriology. Social, cultural, economic, and geographic limitations, as well as medical and biological forces, have an impact on these situations along the way. A modern disease known as anthrax resulted from this deep and intricate process of interaction and trade. By the end of the time frame in question, anthrax was being analysed in terms of international relations, global capitalism, as well as medicine, recompense, and pain. It was a byproduct of globalization, capitalism, and technological advancement.