Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. This zoonotic disease occurs naturally in many areas of the world, most commonly in agricultural regions with inadequate control programs for anthrax in livestock. The anthrax spores are the major form of the bacterium in the environment and anthrax is contracted via spore uptake. Resistance to dehydration, heat, ultraviolet light, gamma radiation and many disinfectants makes anthrax spores ideal biological weapons. These spores can be released as an aerosol, dispersed widely and are small enough in size (1 by 1.5 µm) to be inhaled and deposited in the alveoli of the lungs. Bacillus anthracis has been classified by the Centers for Disease Control
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Cutaneous anthrax is the most commonly reported form in humans (greater than 95% of all cases) and occurs when the bacterium enters a cut or abrasion on the skin. This form of the disease has a case-fatality rate of 20% without antibiotic treatment and less than 1% if antibiotics are given {Brachman , 1966}. Gastrointestinal anthrax, usually caused by ingestion of meat contaminated with anthrax spores, has a varying fatality rate reaching 50% {Sirisanthana and Brown, 2002}. Inhalational anthrax, the most lethal form of anthrax, occurs after exposure to aerosolized spores. The fatality rate for inhalational anthrax is extremely high with an untreated fatality rate approaching 100% {Brachman , 1966}. Injectional anthrax infection caused by parenteral injection of contaminated material (i.e. heroin) manifests with a severe soft-tissue infection at the injection site, septic shock, and meningitis {Ringertz et al, 2004}. This form of anthrax is unnatural and more severe than cutaneous anthrax infection with distinctive features in its clinical presentation, course and management. It has a mortality rate of 37% and higher rate of septicemia {Berger et al, …show more content…
anthracis spores were identified in the United States. In ten of these cases, eight patients sought medical care during the initial phase of infection and six were treated with antibiotics with activity against B. anthracis on the same day. These six patients survived; however, the remaining four patients were not given antibiotics until they were showing signs of fulminant disease and these four died. As inhalational anthrax progresses rapidly to advanced disease with significant toxemia, a delay in antibiotic administration may substantially increase mortality in victims of this infection in spite of the effectiveness of prophylactic antibiotics against vegetative anthrax cells. Emergent is developing rPA7909 anthrax vaccine for PEP for exposure to B. anthracis spores. Lyophilized rPA7909 anthrax vaccine has been demonstrated to remain stable without the need of cold chain and has the potential to generate a more rapid and greater immune response relative to BioThrax, and the possibility of reduction in the number of immunizations needed to confer
Cutaneous anthrax is the most commonly reported form in humans (greater than 95% of all cases) and occurs when the bacterium enters a cut or abrasion on the skin. This form of the disease has a case-fatality rate of 20% without antibiotic treatment and less than 1% if antibiotics are given {Brachman , 1966}. Gastrointestinal anthrax, usually caused by ingestion of meat contaminated with anthrax spores, has a varying fatality rate reaching 50% {Sirisanthana and Brown, 2002}. Inhalational anthrax, the most lethal form of anthrax, occurs after exposure to aerosolized spores. The fatality rate for inhalational anthrax is extremely high with an untreated fatality rate approaching 100% {Brachman , 1966}. Injectional anthrax infection caused by parenteral injection of contaminated material (i.e. heroin) manifests with a severe soft-tissue infection at the injection site, septic shock, and meningitis {Ringertz et al, 2004}. This form of anthrax is unnatural and more severe than cutaneous anthrax infection with distinctive features in its clinical presentation, course and management. It has a mortality rate of 37% and higher rate of septicemia {Berger et al, …show more content…
anthracis spores were identified in the United States. In ten of these cases, eight patients sought medical care during the initial phase of infection and six were treated with antibiotics with activity against B. anthracis on the same day. These six patients survived; however, the remaining four patients were not given antibiotics until they were showing signs of fulminant disease and these four died. As inhalational anthrax progresses rapidly to advanced disease with significant toxemia, a delay in antibiotic administration may substantially increase mortality in victims of this infection in spite of the effectiveness of prophylactic antibiotics against vegetative anthrax cells. Emergent is developing rPA7909 anthrax vaccine for PEP for exposure to B. anthracis spores. Lyophilized rPA7909 anthrax vaccine has been demonstrated to remain stable without the need of cold chain and has the potential to generate a more rapid and greater immune response relative to BioThrax, and the possibility of reduction in the number of immunizations needed to confer