BacilusAnthracisAnthrax.pptVIP

Bacilus Anthracis Anthrax Sheref Hassan Rachel Handwerger Maria Garrido “The Agent” CDC: Category “A” Biological Agent Vegetative cell: large, gram-positive bacillus (1.0-1.5 μm by 3.0-5.0 μm) Endospore: oval, central-to-sub terminal, does not usually swell (1.0x1.5 μm); CO2 levels within the body inhibit sporulation Forms long chains in vitro; forms single cells or short chains in clinical samples Aerobic or facultative anaerobic; non-motile; catalase-positive Nonhemolytic on sheep blood agar; susceptible to lysis by gamma phage Colonies: ground-glass appearance and consistency of beaten-egg whites and are 2-5 mm in diameter after 16-18 hours of incubation “The Agent” contd.. In environments rich in nutrients such as glucose, amino acids, and nucleosides, spores will germinate and form vegetative cells. Vegetative bacteria survive poorly outside of mammalian host. In a nutrient-deficient setting, vegetative cells will form spores. *Spores have been shown to survive in the environment for more than 40 years. History of Anthrax:Early History The first recorded report of anthrax was during the fifth Egyptian Plague in 1500 B.C. ? responsible for the death of a large amount of livestock. The sixth Egyptian Plague, also known as the “plague of boils” was probably the first recorded instance of cutaneous anthrax and was responsible for many deaths. The “Black Bane” in Europe during the 1600s killed well over 60,000 cattle and typified anthrax symptoms. 1863: French biologist Casimir-Joseph Davaine makes B.A. the first microorganism to be conculsively linked to a disease. 1876: B.A. isolated in pure culture for the first time by Robert Koch Was also called: wool sorter’s disease, Bradford disease, and rag picker’s disease. History of Anthrax:Early History 1897: The Bradford Rules are passed as law? Anthrax Investigation Board. 1919: The Anthrax Prevention Act passed in England? established a wool-disinfecting complex in Liverpool. Similar laws, gov’t regulatio