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VIII.8 - Anthrax

from Part VIII - Major Human Diseases Past and Present

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

Kenneth F. Kiple
Affiliation:
Bowling Green State University, Ohio
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Summary

Anthrax is an acute zoonotic disease, primarily of herbivorous animals, which is transmissible to human beings. The causative organism is Bacillus anthracis, often referred to in earlier, and especially in French, texts as bactéridie, the name first bestowed on it by Casimir Davaine in 1863. Humans are infected only secondarily through contact with animals or animal products, and thus the disease in human beings must be considered in relation to anthrax in animals.

The species of domestic animals most commonly affected are cattle, sheep, and goats; pigs, dogs, and cats are less susceptible. Since an enlarged spleen is a classic observation in animals with anthrax, the disease has also been known as splenic fever or splenic apoplexy. In humans the cutaneous form is known as malignant pustule, and the pulmonary or intestinal, industrial type, as woolsorters disease or industrial anthrax. In French the equivalent of splenic fever is sang de rate, in German Milzbrand; other French synonyms include charbon and pustule maligne.

Etiology and Epidemiology

Because B. anthracis produces resistant spores in suitable soils, the disease has long been endemic in many areas throughout the world, with a majority of the outbreaks occurring in Europe and Asia. The Americas, Africa, and Australasia are less affected. Once contaminated with anthrax spores, an area can be extremely difficult to clear, as has been demonstrated on the island of Gruinard off the west coast of Scotland, which was experimentally contaminated during World War II. This is of prime importance for the eipdemiology of the disease because it is rarely spread directly from animal to animal, but almost always through ingestion of contaminated food, either by grazing or, in cooler climates, through imported winter foodstuffs.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1993

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References

Brachman, Philip S. 1980. Inhalation anthrax. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cunningham, William. 1976. The work of two Scottish medical graduates in the control of woolsorters’ disease. Medical History 20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fleming, George. 1871. Animal plagues: Their history, nature and prevention. London.Google Scholar
Lincoln, Ralph E., et al. 1964. Anthrax. Advances in Veterinary Science 9.Google Scholar
Page, Cecil H. W. 1909. British industrial anthrax. Journal of Hygiene 9.Google ScholarPubMed
Théordorides, Jean. 1968. Un grand médecin et biologiste: Casimir-Joseph Davaine (1812–82). In Analecta medico-historica, 4. Oxford.Google Scholar
Wilson, Graham, and Smith, Geoffrey. 1983–4. Anthrax. In Principles of bacteriology, virology and immunity, 7th edition, Vol. 3, Chap. 54. London.Google Scholar
Wyatt, Vivian. 1978. Maladie de Bradford – after 100 years. New Scientist 79.Google Scholar

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  • Anthrax
  • Edited by Kenneth F. Kiple, Bowling Green State University, Ohio
  • Book: The Cambridge World History of Human Disease
  • Online publication: 28 March 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521332866.070
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  • Anthrax
  • Edited by Kenneth F. Kiple, Bowling Green State University, Ohio
  • Book: The Cambridge World History of Human Disease
  • Online publication: 28 March 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521332866.070
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Anthrax
  • Edited by Kenneth F. Kiple, Bowling Green State University, Ohio
  • Book: The Cambridge World History of Human Disease
  • Online publication: 28 March 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521332866.070
Available formats
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