Anthrax

By: Yaciry Rondon

Reservoir:

• Soil, food, water, humans, wild and domestic animals.

Portal of exit: 

• Secretions, excretions, or decomposition of contaminated dead animals. 

Mode of transmission: Direct

• Examples: Direct contact with contaminated animals' secretions, excretions, soil, food, water, or decomposed carcasses.

Portal of entry: 

• Inhalation, ingestion, or cutaneous contact with anthrax.

Susceptible host:

• Mammals, especially herbivores that are unvaccinated.

Prevention: 

• Wear protective personal equipment (PPE).

• Vaccination

• Antibiotics

• Disinfection of possible contaminated surroundings. 

• Avoid contact with infected animals and if able their surroundings (food, water, soil, etc.).

• Avoid consuming products of infected sources. Example: wool, meat, milk, etc.

• Hand washing.

• Isolation of infected animals.

Picture on the left:  "Female New Zealand white rabbit was aerosolized with a lethal dose of anthrax spores and died 3 days postexposure. Many alveoli are filled with edema, and the interstitium is moderately expanded by edema, inflammatory cells, and many intravascular bacilli (inset)." (Twenhafel, 2010)

Picture on the right: Cutaneous anthrax infection on a person's hand. 

Resources:

• About Anthrax 

• Anthrax 

• Anthrax Infection 

• About Anthrax Prevention 

• Pathology of Inhalational Anthrax Animal Models