Posted on 10/13/2001 4:41:44 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
Questions and answers, plus information sites for anthrax
- What is anthrax?
Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. It most commonly occurs in wild and domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, camels and deer, but can also occur in humans exposed to infected animals or tissue from infected animals.
- How do you contract anthrax?
Anthrax infection can occur in three forms: cutaneous (skin), pulmonary (through inhalation) and gastrointestinal. The spores of anthrax are released when an animal dies from infection with the anthrax bacillus. The spores are harmless until they find a host environment where they can grow new bacteria. That host can be an open sore, digestive system or lungs of an animal or person. Experts say it takes thousands of spores to infect you.
- Can I catch anthrax from an infected person or place?
Anthrax is not contagious and thus is not transmitted from patient to patient.
Anthrax spores can be viable for decades after they are dispersed, but the chance of infection from spores that have settled to the ground is minimal.
- How can I become infected with anthrax?
The spores must enter your body. Most people who have gotten cutaneous anthrax -- the easiest to treat -- are animal workers who had a cut on their hands when butchering or skinning infected animals. People have gotten the intestinal version by eating undercooked meat from infected animals. The rarest version, inhaled anthrax, requires that you breathe in between 8,000 to 10,000 spores. Because many wool and skin workers inhale anthrax spores all the time but don't get sick, some scientists speculate that only people with an existing lung condition, including heavy smokers, are likely to be infected.
- Can anthrax be sent through the mail?
Anthrax developed in laboratories as a biological weapon usually is in a powder form that could be inhaled or infect a person with a cut who handled it. The recent incidents in Boca Raton and New York suggest that mail may have been used to deliver the anthrax.
- How can I protect myself from anthrax?
Latex gloves could protect you from skin contact, and many people who usually handle mail are now wearing them as a precaution. In addition, a 50-cent surgical mask will help protect against inhalation of the spores. They filter down to one-tenth of a micron, and anthrax spores are at least one micron and usually larger. Washing exposed skin and clothes with soap and water will remove most of the spores. If you believe you've been exposed to anthrax, see a doctor.
- What constitutes a ``suspicious parcel?''
Some of the more typical characteristics that postal inspectors have detected over the years include parcels that: are unexpected or from someone unfamiliar to you; addressed to someone no longer with your organization or otherwise outdated; have no return address or have one that can't be verified as being legitimate; are of unusual weight or are lopsided or oddly shaped; are marked with restrictive endorsements such as ``personal'' or ``confidential''; have protruding wires, strange odors or stains; show a city or state in the postmark that doesn't match the return address.
- What should I do if I receive an anthrax threat by mail?
Try not to handle the mail or package suspected of contamination. Notify authorities at once. Isolate the damaged or suspicious package and cordon off the immediate area. Tell anyone who touched the mail to wash their hands with soap and water. Place all items worn when in contact with the suspected mail item in plastic bags and have them available for law enforcement agents.
- Can people have anthrax and not know it?
The symptoms of cutaneous anthrax are distinctive and physically obvious. Since inhaled anthrax is nearly always deadly when untreated, any cases would have been discovered by diagnosis or autopsy.
- What are symptoms of cutaneous anthrax?
Cutaneous anthrax usually starts out as a small, itchy blister or pimple on the skin. It eventually enlarges and becomes an open painless ulcer. As the disease progresses, a black scab appears in the middle of the sore -- explaining the disease's name, anthracis, from the Latin word for coal. Often the limb will swell. Patients may also have fever, malaise and headache. Eventually the scab falls off, usually without a scar. With antibiotic treatment, the death rate is less than 1 percent. Without antibiotics, it's about 20 percent.
- What are symptoms of inhaled anthrax infection?
The last previous case of inhaled anthrax in the United States was 25 years ago, and was typical of this disease, once called ``wool-sorters' disease'': The patient handled contaminated wool imported from Pakistan over a long period of time.
Early symptoms include: fever, chills, dry cough, headache, weakness, body ache, abdominal and/or chest pain, difficulty in breathing, malaise. Although the symptoms are similar to flu and other diseases, doctors can test for anthrax and prescribe antibiotics. If untreated, often the symptoms go away briefly before progression to the next phase.
Later symptoms: severe shortness of breath, cyanosis (blue color from lack of oxygen in blood), raspy breathing, chest pain, shock, excessive sweating, sometimes meningitis (severe headache and delirium). Once the disease has reached this point, it is likely to be fatal due to the toxins produced by the bacteria.
- Where can I get more information on anthrax?
Florida Health Department hot line: 1-800-342-3557.
Florida Department of Health website: www.doh.state.fl.us/ This includes press releases on current situation and a brief history of anthrax in Florida.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 404-639-2807.
Centers for Disease Control's Public Health Emergency website: www.bt.cdc.gov/ This includes press releases, basic information on anthrax, emergency response information.
Questions and answers on anthrax, from the CDC: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/anthrax_g.htm
Description of anthrax from WebMD: my.webmd.com/content/
asset/adam_disease_
wool_sorters_diseaseMerck Manual: www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section13/chapter157/157c.htm This chapter covers several diseases, including anthrax, which is third on the page.
Questions and answers on anthrax, from the University of St. Francis: www.aomc.org/ComDiseases/Anthrax.html
Questions and answers on anthrax vaccine, from the Department of Defense: www.defenselink.mil/other_info/qanda.html
Anthrax as a biological weapon, from the American Medical Association/CDC: www.bt.cdc.gov/Agent/Anthrax/Consensus.pdfor jama.ama-assn.org/issues/
v281n18/ffull/jst80027.htmlThe anthrax Q&A was compiled by Herald researcher Elisabeth Donovan.
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