Anthrax is a disease caused by Bacillus anthracis which affects herbivorous animals. Humans acquire the disease incidentally by exposure to infected animals, animal products or spores on soil. The infection is still endemic in many regions in developing countries. In Italy animal clusters are very rare and human cases are exceptional. Bacillus anthrax is also a potential source for acts of bioterrorism. In the natural human infection, cutaneous anthrax is the most widespread, while the other two, pulmonary and gastrointestinal anthrax, are very rare forms. We describe the first case of human anthrax occurring in western Sicily in the last twenty years. The cutaneous lesion healed without significant scarring after antibiotic treatment with tigecycline, rifampin and ciprofloxacin. Following our diagnosis, a cluster of bovine anthrax was detected in the district of Sciacca, causing the death of 13 animals. A larger outbreak was avoided by the vaccination of over 5000 herbivores.
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Vaccines (Basel)
January 2025
The GWI and HLA Research Groups, Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA.
Background: Anthrax is a serious disease caused by () with a very high mortality when the spores of are inhaled (inhalational anthrax). Aerosolized spores can be used as a deadly bioweapon. Vaccination against anthrax is the only effective preventive measure and, hence, the anthrax vaccine was administered to United States (and other) troops during the 1990-91 Gulf War.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Biol Rep
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Pathogens and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, 20 Dongdajie Street, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100071, China.
Background: Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis), Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis), and Brucella spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Trop Med Hyg
January 2025
MRC/UVRI & LSHTM Uganda Research Unit, Entebbe, Uganda.
Between April and November 2023, 27 unexplained human deaths that presented with swelling of the arms, skin sores with black centers, difficulty in breathing, obstructed swallowing, headaches, and other body aches were reported in Kyotera District, Uganda by the Public Health Emergency Operations Center. Subsequently, the death of cattle on farms and the consumption of carcass meat by some residents were also reported. Field response teams collected clinical/epidemiological data and autopsy samples to determine the cause of deaths.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroorganisms
December 2024
Targeted Therapy Team, Institute for Cancer Research, 237 Fulham Road, London SW3 6JB, UK.
The COVID-19 and mpox crisis has reminded the world of the potentially catastrophic consequences of biological agents. Aside from the natural risk, biological agents can also be weaponized or used for bioterrorism. Dissemination in a population or among livestock could be used to destabilize a nation by creating a climate of terror, by negatively impacting the economy and undermining institutions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn endemic areas with a compatible epidemiological context, clinicians should consider anthrax as a potential diagnosis. The disease can present with diverse clinical manifestations, including cutaneous, gastrointestinal, respiratory, or central nervous system infections.
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