ANTHRACIS
Known as: ANTHRAX
About: Pathogenic Bacteria
Microscope: Rod shaped bacteria, possibly round, oval or cylindrical.
What can it do: Anthrax is caused by the bacteria known as Bacillus Anthracis. This is a very dangerous disease which has a reputation for killing. Anthrax spores are very tough and they can be picked up easily by direct contact and moved somewhere else. You can be infected by anthrax by eating infected animal parts and even through a cut or through your lungs when you inhale the spores, or eat or drink infected food and water. Anthrax can also enter the body through an injection site.
Help: There are vaccines that have been developed to treat anthrax depending on the strain as Anthrax is very tricky and clever and it can survive for really long periods of time when it enters any environment so strong chemicals are needed to kill the spores and kill this nasty bacteria. In agricultural areas, it is common for animals to be routinely vaccinated against anthrax.
Infectious rating: Anthrax is not infectious like catching a cold or the flu. It doesn't happen often but there are very rare cases of reports where a person who has infected sore skin, may pass it on to another person with open sores or cuts.
I feel sick: Anthrax affects the skin, the lungs and the intestines.
Skin symptoms: Blisters and bumps on the skin that might itch or ulcers with black part in the middle. Swelling in the area of the sores. Most likely on the face, arms, neck and hands.
Lung symptoms: Cough, shortness of breath and chest discomfort. Chills and fever, headache, severe sweating, confusion or dizziness. Stomach pains and nausea as well as extreme tiredness and aching
Tummy/intestine symptoms
Fever and chills, sore throat with painful swallowing, hoarse voice, headache, tummy pain, swelling in the abdomen, neck or glands, diarrhoea with or without blood in it, vomiting and nausea, blood vomiting, red face and eyes, fainting.
Injection symptoms
Fever and chills, blisters and bumps like the skin symptoms close to where the injection site is, abscesses underneath the skin or in the muscle where the drug was injected.
GEOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS
Most common in agricultural regions including South America, Central America and Sub Saharan Africa. Also in Southwest Asia, Southern and Eastern Europe and the Caribbean. In countries where vaccination of livestock is common, case are rare, more commonly Anthrax is found in developing countries where the animals are not routinely vaccinated.