Anthrax :: essays research papers

Anthrax is the preferred biological warfare agent because It is highly lethal. cytosine million lethal doses per gram of anthrax material (100,000 times deadlier than the deadliest chemical warfare agent). Silent, invisible killer. Inhalational anthrax is virtually always fatal. There are meek barriers to production. Low cost of producing the anthrax material. Not high-technology. Knowledge is widely available. Easy to produce in large quantities. It is easy to weaponize. It is extremely stable. It can be stored near indefinitely as a dry powder. It can be loaded, in a freeze-dried condition, in munitions or disseminated as an aerosol with crude sprayers. Currently, we allow a limited detection capability. What is Anthrax? Anthrax is a naturally occurring sickness of plant eating animals (goats, sheep, cattle, wine, etc.) caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. It is an illness which has been recognize since antiquity. Anthrax was common in essentially all areas where live stock are raised. Intensive livestock immunization programs have greatly reduced the occurrence of the disease among both animals and humans in much of the world, an most outbreaks occur in areas where immunization programs have not been implemented or have become compromised (primarily Africa and Asia however, outbreaks occurred during the mid- I 990s in Haiti and the former Soviet Union). Anthrax spores can remain viable for several decades under suitable environmental conditions thus, absence seizure of cases does not equate to absence of risk. Humans can contract anthrax in three ways Through cuts or breaks in the skin resulting from involvement with an infected animal (cutaneous anthrax), resulting in local and possibly systemic (bloodstream) infection. From breathing anthrax spores (termed "woolsorters" disease) resulting in an infection of the lungs (inhalational anthrax). From eating infected meat, resulting in gastrointestinal infection (gastrointestinal anthrax). Gastrointestinal anthrax is for the most part not considered a threat to U.S. forces. What are the symptoms? Symptoms of anthrax begin after a 1 to 6 day incubation period following exposure. For contact or cutaneous anthrax, itching will occur at the site of exposure followed by the formation of a lesion. Untreated contact anthrax has a fatality rate of 5-20 percent, but with effective antibiotic treatment, few deaths occur. Initial symptoms for inhalational anthrax are generally non-specific low grade fever, a dry hacking cough, and weakness. The mortal may briefly improve after 2 to 4 days however within 24 hours after this brief improvement, respiratory distress occurs with jounce and death following shortly thereafter.