What Is Anthrax? Symptoms, Causes And Treatment Of The Disease

What is anthrax?

Anthrax , also known as anthrax, belongs to a group of infectious diseases caused by thegram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium Bacillus anthracis. This type of bacteria often exists in natural conditions in soil or is a parasite on domestic or wild animals.

When humans come into contact with animals containing pathogenic bacteria, they can become infected and suffer serious illness when the bacteria enter the body. Usually the disease enters the human body through contact routes such as:

• Skin infection: occurs when contact with pathogens through wounds on the skin or using animal products such as fur, hide, wool, etc. Common sites of infection through the skin are the neck and forearms. , hand. The pathogen incubates from 1 – 7 days until onset, but if detected early and treated properly, recovery can be quick.
• Infection through the respiratory tract: when people are exposed to pathogens by inhaling bacterial spores in the air, often found in wool factories from animal fur, slaughterhouses, etc. The first sign of recognition is difficulty. breathing due to affecting the lymph nodes in the chest and gradually spreading to other respiratory organs such as the lungs.
• Infection through the digestive tract: when using animal meat that contains pathogens and is not thoroughly cooked and when swallowed, the body will be invaded by anthrax bacterial spores, causing disease inside the digestive tract.

Is anthrax contagious?

Although this is an infectious disease, its infection rate is not as high as the common cold. Most cases of infection are transmitted from animals to humans and there have been no specific studies on human-to-human transmission. However, when infected, patients often have many serious symptoms for the body. That is why this disease is currently a threat to the world, especially this is a pathogen that can be used in biological weapons.

Where is the disease commonly found? 

With research on anthrax worldwide, this disease is now concentrated in agricultural areas in Central and South America. In addition, the Sahara region, Africa, Southwest Asia, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe are also areas where the disease appears and many cases of disease transmission from animals to humans have been recorded. 

Most disease outbreaks occur in developing countries where there are not many public veterinary vaccination programs. That’s why in the United States, strict annual animal vaccination regulations are the best solution to prevent it.

Symptoms of anthrax

Symptoms of skin infection

• Blisters, small bumps and itching appear like when bitten by an insect.
• Slight swelling around the mouth of the wound and swelling at the peak of the disease.
• The wound appears on the skin and appears black inside the center of the wound after reducing the blisters and small tumors 

Symptoms of respiratory infections

• Fever and chills.
• Chest discomfort and feeling of difficulty breathing.
• Dry cough, chest pain every time you cough
• Nausea, vomiting, or stomach pain.
• Headache.
• Sweating.
• Body ache, mental fatigue.

Symptoms of gastrointestinal infections

• Fever and chills. 
• Swelling in the neck or lymph nodes in the neck. 
• Sore throat, pain when swallowing.
• Hoarseness or loss of voice.
• Nausea and vomiting, especially vomiting blood. 
• Abdominal pain, diarrhea (in some cases bloody diarrhea). 
• Headache.
• Lethargic, tired.

Susceptible subjects

• People who work in the military often go to field locations with frequent outdoor or wild conditions that easily come into contact with wild animals.

• Scientific researchers often study anthrax in the laboratory 
• People working in factories that process products from wild animals such as wool factories, animal slaughter factories, leather processing factories, etc.
• Conservation officers and wildlife researchers.
• Medical staff working in the veterinary industry often have direct contact with many different types of animals.

Diagnosis and treatment 

Diagnostic 

Anthrax can usually only be detected when there are symptoms of the disease or contact with animals suspected of having anthrax. For patients suspected of being infected through the respiratory tract, a chest X-ray – CT scan is needed to evaluate lung function to see if there is pleural effusion or not.

In addition, diagnosing anthrax can only be done by blood testing to get an accurate indicator of whether you have the disease or not. Usually the test will perform:

• Measure antibodies and toxins in blood specimens to conduct analysis and eliminate causes, thereby providing diagnostic results.
• Take samples directly from wounds with secretions such as damaged skin or secretions from the respiratory tract to directly test for Bacillus anthracis bacteria.

Treatment of anthrax 

Normally, patients with anthrax are treated with antibiotics orally or in combination with an intravenous infusion. This treatment method will gradually reduce symptoms and bacterial levels after about 10 consecutive days of antibiotic use.

How to prevent 

Currently, there is no specific treatment for anthrax, so in addition to antibiotic treatment when infected, scientific and medical institutes around the world have also prepared vaccines to prevent the disease. People working in areas and fields with high risk of disease will be supported with annual vaccination to ensure their health.

Prevent anthrax through vaccines

In addition, to prevent disease, you should pay attention to some daily habits such as:

• Maintain hygiene and wash hands with soap after contact with animals.
• Limit contact with animals when there are wounds on the skin.
• Limit the use of unprocessed or undercooked wild animal meat.
• Use personal protective equipment when working in high-risk areas containing many pathogens.
• If you have any suspicion of having the disease, you should immediately go to the nearest medical facility for examination and treatment as soon as possible. 

If you have any questions about anthrax, please contact MEDLATEC General Hospital immediately for the fastest consulting support. MEDLATEC General Hospital currently has 26 years of experience in general treatment and has achieved many international certifications, especially CAP certification with strict standards granted by the American Pathology Association.

Hopefully the detailed information in our article has helped you gain more information about anthrax as well as effective prevention of this disease.