Anthrax

This is a highly dangerous infectious disease transmitted through direct contact from animals (cattle, horses, sheep, goats) and their products. Caused by Bacillus anthracis, an aerobe whose spores can survive in the soil for decades, resistant to the environment. Usually, after an incubation period of 1-8 days, the skin is affected, a painless ulcer forms, surrounded by a dark scab, encircled by edematous ring, with several secondary vesicles around it. Without treatment, sepsis develops, and death occurs within 2-3 days. Prevention: suspected cases are treated with a 1-month course of antibiotics and a vaccine, and deceased humans and fallen animals are cremated.

Source | Glossary of Most Commonly Used Biomedical Terms and Concepts | Lithuanian University of Health Sciences | Academician Professor Antanas Praškevičius, Professor Laima Ivanovienė