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Bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive and rod-shaped bacterium that causes anthrax, a deadly disease to livestock and, occasionally, to humans. It is the only permanent ( obligate ) pathogen within the genus Bacillus .
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis or Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis. [2] Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. [9] Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. [1]
Bacillus anthracis is notable for its filamentous appearance, which is sometimes described as resembling Medusa's head. [1]: 167 Consistency is examined by physically manipulating the colony with a sterile instrument. It is described using terms like brittle, creamy, sticky and dry.
Anthrax weaponization is the development and deployment of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis or, more commonly, its spore (referred to as anthrax), as a biological weapon. As a biological weapon, anthrax has been used in biowarfare and bioterrorism since 1914. [1]
The word "bacillus" (or its plural "bacilli", with a small b) is also a generic term to describe the morphology of any rod-shaped bacterium. This general term does not mean that the subject is a member of class Bacilli or genus Bacillus. Thus, it does not necessarily imply a similar group of characteristics.
Anthrax is a disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, a spore-forming, Gram positive, rod-shaped bacterium (Fig. 1).The lethality of the disease is caused by the bacterium's two principal virulence factors: (i) the polyglutamic acid capsule, which is anti-phagocytic, and (ii) the tripartite protein toxin, called anthrax toxin.
Endospores of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis were used in the 2001 anthrax attacks. The powder found in contaminated postal letters consisted of anthrax endospores. This intentional distribution led to 22 known cases of anthrax (11 inhalation and 11 cutaneous). The case fatality rate among those patients with inhalation anthrax was 45% (5/11).
Endospore-forming bacteria can cause disease; for example, anthrax can be contracted by the inhalation of Bacillus anthracis endospores, and contamination of deep puncture wounds with Clostridium tetani endospores causes tetanus, which, like botulism, is caused by a toxin released by the bacteria that grow from the spores. [101]