Year 10 Disease Assignment-Anthrax

By Jeremy Johnson

What is the disease

• Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.

What is the cause of the disease?

• The most common cause of the disease is animals.

• You get it by handling products from infected animals or can get it by touching dead infected animals by touching their broken skin or blood.

• Animals get it from spores while grazing.

What type of disease is it?

• Anthrax is an acute disease which has two meanings.

• 1. A rapid onset which means it spreads through body tissue.

• 2. A short course meaning it only last for a short period of time normally depends on how its treated.

Who commonly suffers from the disease?

• Animals mainly suffer from anthrax because they get it from spores while grazing.

• Humans suffer from it a fair bit less but still a lot.

What are the signs and the symptoms?

• First a itchy sore• Then a black ulcer (usually painless)• Fever, Headaches and shortness of breath• Abdominal pain, Bloody diarrhoea• Nausea and vomiting

Treatment

• Treated with antibiotics including penicillin, doxycycline and ciprofloxacin.

• Use these for about 60 days.• Prevention: Take the antibiotics as stated

above in the amount your doctor prescribes.

Other Info:

• Anthrax is more common in America and Africa where there are lots of wildlife and animal species that can cause it to spread.

• Anthrax is also common in America because the Marine Corps there use it as a biological weapon also making the disease increase.

Bibliography:

• www.google.com • www.wikipedia.com • http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/

diseases/anthrax/

• http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/bulletin/anthrax.html

• Science Dimensions 4