A critical consideration in effective and measured public health responses to an outbreak of inhalational anthrax is the optimum duration of antibiotic prophylaxis. We develop a competing-risks model to address the duration of antibiotic prophylaxis and the incubation period that accounts for the risks of spore germination and spore clearance. The model predicts the incubation period distributi...

Anthrax outbreaks in livestock have social, economic and health implications, altering farmer's livelihoods, impacting trade and posing a zoonotic risk. Our study investigated the survival of Bacillus thuringiensis and B. anthracis spores sporulated at 15, 20, or 37°C, over 33 days of composting. Spores (∼7.5 log10 CFU g(-1)) were mixed with manure and composted in laboratory scale composters. ...

1. Etiology 2. Distribution 3. Disease in Animals 4. Disease in Humans 4.1. Cutaneous Anthrax 4.2. Intestinal Anthrax 4.3. Pulmonary (inhalation) Anthrax 4.4. Other Forms of Anthrax 5. Vaccines and Treatment 6. The cases of large occurrence 6.1. An Unusual Outbreak of Anthrax in Australia 6.2. Human Anthrax in Zimbabwe 6.3. The Sverdlovsk Anthrax Outbreak of 1979 6.4. Outbreaks of Anthrax Zoono...

Spore formation is a sophisticated mechanism by which some bacteria survive conditions of stress and starvation by producing a multilayered protective capsule enclosing their condensed DNA. Spores are highly resistant to damage by heat, radiation, and commonly employed antibacterial agents. Previously, spores have also been shown to be resistant to photodynamic inactivation using dyes and light...

As a potential antimicrobial, the bacteriophage lysin PlyG has been reported to specifically recognize Bacillus anthracis vegetative cells only and to kill B. anthracis vegetative cells and its germinating spores. However, how PlyG interacts with B. anthracis spores remains unclear. Herein, a 60-amino-acid domain in PlyG (residues 106 to 165), located mainly in the previously identified catalyt...

Acquisition of iron is necessary for the replication of nearly all bacterial pathogens; however, iron of vertebrate hosts is mostly sequestered by heme and bound to hemoglobin within red blood cells. In Bacillus anthracis, the spore-forming agent of anthrax, the mechanisms of iron scavenging from hemoglobin are unknown. We report here that B. anthracis secretes IsdX1 and IsdX2, two NEAT domain ...

Bacillus anthracis, a gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium, is the etiological agent of anthrax. The gene coding for the S-layer protein (sap) was cloned on two contiguous fragments in Escherichia coli, and the complete sequence of the structural gene was determined. The protein, Sap, is composed of 814 residues, including a classical prokaryotic 29-amino-acid signal peptide. The mature form ...

The ecology and distribution of Bacillus anthracis is poorly understood despite continued anthrax outbreaks in wildlife and livestock throughout the United States. Little work is available to define the potential environments that may lead to prolonged spore survival and subsequent outbreaks. This study used the genetic algorithm for rule-set prediction modeling system to model the ecological n...

1. Etiology 2. Distribution 3. Disease in Animals 4. Disease in Humans 4.1. Cutaneous Anthrax 4.2. Intestinal Anthrax 4.3. Pulmonary (inhalation) Anthrax 4.4. Other Forms of Anthrax 5. Vaccines and Treatment 6. The cases of large occurrence 6.1. An Unusual Outbreak of Anthrax in Australia 6.2. Human Anthrax in Zimbabwe 6.3. The Sverdlovsk Anthrax Outbreak of 1979 6.4. Outbreaks of Anthrax Zoono...

Background: Bacillus anthracis may usually cause three forms of anthrax: inhalation, gastrointestinal and cutaneous. The gastrointestinal (GI) anthrax develops after eating contaminated meat. Thus, in this paper were report 5 cases of intestinal anthrax. Case Presentation: We report a case series of intestinal anthrax, with history of consumption of raw or poorly cooked liver of sheep. One pati...