Anthrax

Heavy metal group

For the Record…

Enter Belladonna

Hip-Hop Change-up

Regrouped after Fire

The Bush Administration

Left Elektra

Selected discography

Sources

Cemented by their mutual interest in hard-core punk and heavy metal, comic books and skateboarding, guitarist Scott Ian, bassist Dan Lilker, singer Neil Turbin, guitarist Greg Walls, and drummer Greg D’Angelo in 1981 sparked a blaze that would set the heavy metal/thrash world on fire. Their first step beyond the musical framework of the genre combined the fast and furious pace of hard-core with the slightly more melodic sound of heavy metal. Such stylistic experimentation would later become a habit that would contribute to Anthrax’s longevity.

Anthrax toured small-town clubs and rehearsed nonstop during its first two years. In that interim, guitarist Dan Spitz, whose brother David played in Black Sabbath, replaced Walls, and drummer Charlie Benante replaced D’Angelo. Benante became the band’s primary songwriter, occasional guitarist, and art director. Then, in 1983, after getting managers Jon and Martha Zazula to listen to their demo, they signed with Megaforce Records and released the single “Soldiers of Metal.” They continued to tour small venues, performing with fellow thrashers Metallica and Manowar.

Anthrax struggled with touring, recording, and promotion for three years before they released their first

For the Record…

Members include Joey Belladonna (born on October 30, in Oswego, NY; group member, 1984–92), vocals; Frank Bello (born on July 9, 1965; joined group, 1984), bass; Charlie Benante (joined group, early 1980s), drums, guitar; John Bush (joined group, 1992), vocals; Rob Caggiano (joined group, 2002), guitar; Greg D’Angelo (left group, early 1980s), drums; Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld), rhythm guitar; Dan Lilker (group member, 1981–84), bass; Dan Spitz (group member, early 1980s–1995), guitar; Neil Turbin (group member, 1981–84), vocals; Greg Walls (left group, early 1980s), guitar.

Group formed in New York, NY, 1981; signed with Megaforce Records, 1983; released debut album, Fistful of Metal, 1984; signed with Island Records, released Spreading the Disease, 1986; signed with Elektra Entertainment, 1992; released Sound of White Noise, 1993, and Stomp 442, 1995; left Elektra; released Volume 8: The Thread is Real on Ignition/Tommy Boy Records, 1998; released greatest hits collection Return of the Killer A’s: The Best Of, 1999; released We’ve Come For You All, 2003.

Awards: Sound of White Noise named Best Metal Album in Guitar Player’s Readers Poll, 1994.

Addresses: Record company —Nuclear Blast, Oeschstr. 40, 73072 Donzdorf, Germany, website: http://www.nuclearblast.de. Website —Anthrax Official Website: http://www.anthrax.com.

album, Fistful of Metal, in 1984 on Megaforce in the United States and Music for Nations in Europe. The album attracted a small following, who generally believed they had discovered the fastest metal music ever heard. Benante and guitarist Ian also used those lean years to develop a concurrent splinter group, Stormtroopers of Death (SOD), an even faster hardcore outfit marked by a hearty sense of humor. SOD also released its debut, Speak English or Die, in 1984.

Enter Belladonna

Also that year, bass player Lilker decided to part ways with Anthrax, later going on to join thrash combo Nuclear Assault. Roadie Frank Bello took over for Lilker. And in August, while the group was in the studio working on the follow-up to Fistful of Metal, Ian fired singer Neil Turbin. Joey Belladonna stepped into the vocal slot, giving a new range, style, and polish to Anthrax’s sound.

With the new lineup in place, Anthrax finished recording the five-song EP Armed and Dangerous in 1985. The mini-album included a cover of punk heroes the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen.” The set earned Anthrax the interest of Island Records, which signed the band and put them to work with producer Carl Canedy on their second full-length album, Spreading the Disease.

Reaching number 113 on Billboard’s pop chart, Spreading the Disease, spurred on by the single “Madhouse,” spread Anthrax’s popularity across the world the following year; in 1986 the band played their first United Kingdom show at London’s Hammersmith Palais. They went on to tour Europe and Scandinavia with up-and-coming headbangers Metallica.

The band left their New York City dwellings behind to record their next album in Miami and the Bahamas with producer Eddie Kramer. Anthrax released Among the Living in May of 1987. Lyrics included topics ranging from American Indians to comic-book character Judge Dredd. The disc hit the United States charts at number 62 and the United Kingdom charts at 18, then earned the band their first gold album. Three singles nurtured Among the Living’s success—“I Am the Law,” “Indians,” and the heavy metal/rap hybrid “I’m the Man.”

Hip-Hop Change-up

“I’m the Man” was a leap beyond the musical boundaries of heavy metal. Though Anthrax had enjoyed a glancing relationship with hip-hop for some time, the stylistic synthesis was a daring move. Soon the band’s ascent in the rock world paralleled the revival of the comic-book heroes depicted in their lyrics.

Anthrax had finally hit the surface of worldwide visibility, but they refused to let go of their heavy metal designation in spite of the borders they continued to cross. “We’re a heavy metal band, that’s what we are,” Ian told Melody Maker. “We just don’t like people to think we’re a heavy metal band like all those other bands. We want people to take notice of the fact that we’re different.”

Their identity firmly entrenched, Anthrax ventured further down the road toward mass success in 1988 with the release of the three-song EP I’m the Man. They recorded the set at a show in Dallas in 1987; it eventually went platinum. Later in the year, the band released their next record, State of Euphoria. The title suggested the condition of fans as they left an Anthrax performance.

Euphoria included “Make Me Laugh,” a tirade against television evangelism; a cover of the French rock band Trust’s “Antisocial”; “Now It’s Dark,” inspired by the David Lynch film Blue Velvet; and “Misery Loves Company,” penned in response to the Stephen King novel Misery.

Aside from the pantheon of popular culture, the band focused on social and political upheaval, while still managing to maintain the comic appeal they had begun to develop earlier. Ian outlined his personal agenda for social renewal to Melody Maker, venturing, “I think there should be a limited number of zombies in circulation, so that people could give vent to their frustrations by beating them up with bats. I think that could be socially useful.”

In an effort to prevent exhaustion and their own frustrations, Anthrax took a three-month vacation from recording, touring, and each other to regain their creative energies—the first in three years. Then, just as they began their next project, a major setback hit the band: in January of 1990, Anthrax narrowly escaped injury in a serious fire at their studio. The bandmembers formed a human chain to try to save their equipment, but the conflagration ultimately caused more than $100,000 worth of damage to Anthrax’s gear and destroyed the entire studio.

Regrouped after Fire

Picking up the pieces, the band moved their recording sessions to Los Angeles in late February to finish the work they’d begun on the new album. Persistence of Time hit the street in 1990. The Salvador Dali painting “Persistence of Memory” had inspired Charlie Benante’s cover design for the album. Persistence of Time would be nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Heavy Metal Performance category in 1991. In the meantime, Anthrax hit the road supporting heavy metal giants Iron Maiden on their “No Prayer on the Road” tour.

Their next step beyond the heavy metal norm was taken a year later and gained the band recognition, admiration, and a whole lot of press; Anthrax released yet another, so-called EP—despite its ten-song length—of covers and B-sides called The Attack of The Killer B’s. The disc included covers of Kiss’ “Parasite,” Trust’s “Sects,” and Discharge’s “Protest and Survive.” But the most notable offering was “Bring the Noise,” by rebel rappers Public Enemy. Public Enemy’s Chuck D joined Anthrax in the studio and later onstage, contributing his trademark commanding vocals. Billboard declared the union “a stroke of brilliance,” and reported, “The combination of hip-hop grooves, turntable scratching and crunching guitar riffs and rolling drums is mind blowing.”

Anthrax then left Island to sign a $10 million contract with the Elektra label. Almost before the ink on the deal was dry, the band canned singer Joey Belladonna, citing “creative differences,” and a year later hired singer John Bush, formerly of the heavy metal band Armored Saint.

The Bush Administration

“It was frightening to replace a frontman,” Benante told RIP magazine. “It was frightening to risk sitting there for a year, not being able to get anyone. It was frightening to have done it after signing this big contract with Elektra. But, that makes it all the more worth it. If we’d stayed in one place, I doubt I’d still be in this band. I doubt there’d even be a band! Then, again, we’ve never been afraid to try out different things, though we never seem to get credit. Like, we wore shorts and thermals in the past, and now that’s accepted fashion. But when we did it, people hated us for it!”

Anthrax released Sound of White Noise, their first record with their new singer, in 1993. Their sound was markedly transformed by Bush’s vocals and writing. “For us, it’s a big deal to make a record where you don’t know what you’re getting,” Ian said in a 1993 Elektra press biography. “These tracks are completely different from each other, yet it’s all Anthrax. It shows the types of music and ideas that we’re into.”

The set included “Potter’s Field,” about abortion, “Only” and “A Thousand Points of Hate,” about interpersonal relations, and “Black Lodge,” inspired by another David Lynch work, the television series Twin Peaks. In fact, Twin Peaks composer Angelo Badalamenti made a guest appearance on the song. “It’s just different enough to remind you that within the circumscribed parameters of thrash etiquette, Anthrax has always taken chances,” Rolling Stone said of the album. “And, how many bands in any genre have successfully reinvented themselves a decade into their career? In that sense, Sound of White Noise is a powerful comeback from a group that never went away.”

After more than ten grueling years of thrashing across the world, Anthrax insisted that their endurance came from the faith of their fans. “We’re following the Iron Maiden path,” guitarist Spitz declared in Screamer. “We don’t rely on radioplay or videos or album sales. We rely on touring and word-of-mouth. We play what we like to play and write what we like to write. We don’t have to change for anybody. That’s why the kids believe in us.” Spitz was voted out of the group in 1995.

Left Elektra

Anthrax released Stomp 442 on Elektra in 1995. The band felt that the label did not promote the album with as much fervor as Sound of White Noise, and left. “It just turned into a terrible situation. It just kind of took two years out of our lives,” Ian told Steve Knopper in Billboard. The group signed with Ignition Records, a joint venture with Tommy Boy Records, and released Volume 8: The Threat Is Real in 1998. According to Knopper, the album was “even more intense and thrashing than usual” and contained “some strange new experiments” for the group. Ian told Knopper that on the album “there are a lot of dynamics and a lot of ups and downs, yet there’s a cohesiveness. It all sounds like Anthrax. We’ve never had a record with that much diversity and this much cohesiveness. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but it works.”

Anthrax participated briefly in a package tour that included Mötley Crüe and Megadeath in 2000 and began recording another album in 2001. Guitarist Rob Cag-giano joined the group in 2002, and We’ve Come For You All was released in 2003; the group planned to tour in Europe and the United States.

With the threat of national anthrax attacks following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the band acknowledged its association, by name, with the infectious disease on its website: “In the 20 years we’ve been know as ‘Anthrax,’ we never thought the day would come that our name would actually mean what it really means… Before the tragedy of September 11th… (m)ost people associated the name Anthrax with the band, not the germ. Now in the wake of those events, our name symbolizes fear, paranoia, and death… To be associated with these things we are against is a strange and stressful situation.” The band said that they hoped future events would not make changing their name necessary.

Selected discography

Fistful of Metal, Megaforce, 1984.

Armed and Dangerous (EP), Megaforce, 1985.

Spreading the Disease, Island, 1986.

Among the Living, Island, 1987.

I’m the Man (EP), Island, 1988.

State of Euphoria, Island, 1988.

Persistence of Time, Island, 1990.

Attack of the Killer B’s, Island, 1991.

(Contributor) Last Action Hero (soundtrack), Sony, 1993.

Sound of White Noise, Elektra, 1993.

(Contributor) Airheads (soundtrack), Arista, 1994.

Live: The Island Years, Island, 1994.

Stomp 442, Elektra, 1995.

Volume 8: The Threat Is Real, Tommy Boy, 1998.

Return of the Killer A’s: The Best Of, Beyond, 1999.

(Contributor) Twisted Forever, Koch, 2001.

We’ve Come For You All, Nuclear Blast, 2003.

Sources

Books

Graff, Gary, and Daniel Durchholz, editors, MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press, 1999.

Rees, Dafydd, and Luke Crampton, Rock Movers & Shakers, ABC/CLIO, 1991.

Periodicals

Billboard, May 29, 1993; June 20, 1998.

Circus, December 31, 1988.

Guitar Player, July 1993.

Hit parader, september 1993.

Melody Maker, November 28, 1987; September 17, 1988; February 11, 1989; February 10, 1990; August 18, 1990; August 25, 1990; June 22, 1991; December 21, 1991.

Metro Times (Detroit, Ml), July 7, 1993.

Modern Drummer, June 1993.

Pulse!, July 1993; September 1993.

RIP, August 1993.

Rolling Stone, May 13, 1993; June 24, 1993.

Screamer, November 1988; April 1990; September 1990.

Spin, July 1993.

Online

“Anthrax,” All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (February 27, 2003).

Anthrax Official Website, http://www.anthrax.com (February 27, 2003).

Nuclear Blast Records, http://www.nuclearblast.de (February 27, 2003).

Additional information was obtained from Elektra Records press materials, 1993.

—Sonya Shelton

Anthrax

Definition

Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis that primarily affects livestock but that can occasionally spread to humans, affecting either the skin, intestines, or lungs. In humans, the infection can often be treated, but it is almost always fatal in animals.

Description

Anthrax is most often found in the agricultural areas of South and Central America, southern and eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. In the United States, anthrax is rarely reported; however, cases of animal infection with anthrax are most often reported in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. The bacterium and its associated disease get their name from the Greek word meaning "coal" because of the characteristic coal-black sore that is the hallmark of the most common form of the disease.

During the 1800s, in England and Germany, anthrax was known either as "wool-sorter's" or "ragpicker's" disease because workers contracted the disease from bacterial spores present on hides and in wool or fabric fibers. Spores are the small, thick-walled dormant stage of some bacteria that enable them to survive for long periods of time under adverse conditions. The first anthrax vaccine was perfected in 1881 by Louis Pasteur.

The largest outbreak ever recorded in the United States occurred in 1957 when nine employees of a goat hair processing plant became ill after handling a contaminated shipment from Pakistan. Four of the five patients with the pulmonary form of the disease died. Other cases appeared in the 1970s when contaminated goatskin drumheads from Haiti were brought into the U.S. as souvenirs.

Today, anthrax is rare, even among cattle, largely because of widespread animal vaccination. However, some serious epidemics continue to occur among animal herds and in human settlements in developing countries due to ineffective control programs. In humans, the disease is almost always an occupational hazard, contracted by those who handle animal hides (farmers, butchers, and veterinarians) or sort wool. There are no reports of the disease spreading from one person to another.

Anthrax as a weapon

There has been a great deal of recent concern that the bacteria that cause anthrax may be used as a type of biological warfare, since it is possible to become infected simply by inhaling the spores, and inhaled anthrax is the most serious form of the disease. The bacteria can be grown in laboratories, and with a great deal of expertise and special equipment, the bacteria can be altered to be usable as a weapon.

The largest-ever documented outbreak of human anthrax contracted through spore inhalation occurred in Russia in 1979, when anthrax spores were accidentally released from a military laboratory, causing a regional epidemic that killed 69 of its 77 victims. In the United States in 2001, terrorists converted anthrax spores into a powder that could be inhaled and mailed it to intended targets, including news agencies and prominent individuals in the federal government. Because the United States government considers anthrax to be of potential risk to soldiers, the Department of Defense has begun systematic vaccination of all military personnel against anthrax. For civilians in the United States, the government has instituted a program called the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile program in which antibiotics and other medical materials to treat two million people are located so that they could be received anywhere in the country within twelve hours following a disaster or terrorist attack.

Causes and symptoms

The naturally occurring bacterium Bacillus anthracis produces spores that can remain dormant for years in soil and on animal products, such as hides, wool, hair, or bones. The disease is often fatal to cattle, sheep, and goats, and their hides, wool, and bones are often heavily contaminated.

The bacteria are found in many types of soil, all over the world, and usually do not pose a problem for humans because the spores stay in the ground. In order to infect a human, the spores have to be released from the soil and must enter the body. They can enter the body through a cut in the skin, through consuming contaminated meat, or through inhaling the spores. Once the spores are in the body, and if antibiotics are not administered, the spores become bacteria that multiply and release a toxin that affects the immune system. In the inhaled form of the infection, the immune system can become overwhelmed and the body can go into shock.

Symptoms vary depending on how the disease was contracted, but the symptoms usually appear within one week of exposure.

KEY TERMS

Antibody— A specific protein produced by the immune system in response to a specific foreign protein or particle called an antigen.

Antitoxin— An antibody that neutralizes a toxin.

Bronchitis— Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bronchial tubes of the lung that can make it difficult to breathe.

Cutaneous— Pertaining to the skin

Meningitis— Inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord called the meninges.

Pulmonary— Having to do with the lungs or respiratory system.

Spore— A dormant form assumed by some bacteria, such as anthrax, that enable the bacterium to survive high temperatures, dryness, and lack of nourishment for long periods of time. Under proper conditions, the spore may revert to the actively multiplying form of the bacteria.

Cutaneous anthrax

In humans, anthrax usually occurs when the spores enter a cut or abrasion, causing a skin (cutaneous) infection at the site. Cutaneous anthrax, as this infection is called, is the mildest and most common form of the disease. At first, the bacteria cause an itchy, raised area like an insect bite. Within one to two days, inflammation occurs around the raised area, and a blister forms around an area of dying tissue that becomes black in the center. Other symptoms may include shivering and chills. In most cases, the bacteria remain within the sore. If, however, they spread to the nearest lymph node (or, in rare cases, escape into the bloodstream), the bacteria can cause a form of blood poisoning that rapidly proves fatal.

Inhalation anthrax

Inhaling the bacterial spores can lead to a rare, often-fatal form of anthrax known as pulmonary or inhalation anthrax that attacks the lungs and sometimes spreads to the brain. Inhalation anthrax begins with flulike symptoms, namely fever, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, and shortness of breath. As early as one day after these initial symptoms appear, and as long as two weeks later, the symptoms suddenly worsen and progress to bronchitis. The patient experiences difficulty breathing, and finally, the patient enters a state of shock. This rare form of anthrax is often fatal, even if treated within one or two days after the symptoms appear.

Intestinal anthrax

Intestinal anthrax is a rare, often-fatal form of the disease, caused by eating meat from an animal that died of anthrax. Intestinal anthrax causes stomach and intestinal inflammation and sores or lesions (ulcers), much like the sores that appear on the skin in the cutaneous form of anthrax. The first signs of the disease are nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, and fever, followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe bloody diarrhea.

Diagnosis

Anthrax is diagnosed by detecting B. anthracis in samples taken from blood, spinal fluid, skin lesions, or respiratory secretions. The bacteria may be positively identified using biochemical methods or using a technique whereby, if present in the sample, the anthrax bacterium is made to fluoresce. Blood samples will also indicate elevated antibody levels or increased amounts of a protein produced directly in response to infection with the anthrax bacterium. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests amplify trace amounts of DNA to show that the anthrax bacteria are present. Additional DNA-based tests are also currently being perfected.

Treatment

In the early stages, anthrax is curable by administering high doses of antibiotics, but in the advanced stages, it can be fatal. If anthrax is suspected, health care professionals may begin to treat the patient with antibiotics even before the diagnosis is confirmed because early intervention is essential. The antibiotics used include penicillin, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin. Because inhaled spores can remain in the body for a long time, antibiotic treatment for inhalation anthrax should continue for 60 days. In the case of cutaneous anthrax, the infection may be cured following a single dose of antibiotic, but it is important to continue treatment so as to avoid potential serious complications, such as inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (meningitis ). In the setting of potential bioterrorism, cutaneous anthrax should be treated with a 60-day dose of antibiotics.

Research is ongoing to develop new antibiotics and antitoxins that would work against the anthrax bacteria and the toxins they produce. One Harvard professor, Dr. R. John Collier, and his team have been testing two possible antitoxins on rats. A Stanford microbiologist and a Penn State chemist have also been testing their new antibiotic against the bacteria that cause brucellosis and tularemia, as well as the bacteria that cause anthrax. All of these drugs are still in early investigational stages, however, and it is still unknown how these drugs would affect humans.

Prognosis

Untreated anthrax is often fatal, but death is far less likely with appropriate care. Ten to twenty percent of patients will die from anthrax of the skin (cutaneous anthrax) if it is not properly treated. All patients with inhalation (pulmonary) anthrax will die if untreated. Intestinal anthrax is fatal 25-75% of the time.

Prevention

Anthrax is relatively rare in the United States because of widespread animal vaccination and practices used to disinfect hides or other animal products. Anyone visiting a country where anthrax is common or where herd animals are not often vaccinated should avoid contact with livestock or animal products and avoid eating meat that has not been properly prepared and cooked.

Other means of preventing the spread of infection include carefully handling dead animals suspected of having the disease, burning (instead of burying) contaminated carcasses, and providing good ventilation when processing hides, fur, wool, or hair.

In the event that exposure to anthrax spores is known, such as in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, a course of antibiotics can prevent the disease from occurring.

In the case of contaminated mail, as was the case in the 2001 attacks, the U.S. postal service recommends certain precautions. These precautions include inspecting mail from an unknown sender for excessive tape, powder, uneven weight or lumpy spots, restrictive endorsements such as "Personal," or "Confidential," a postmark different from the sender's address, or a sender's address that seems false or that cannot be verified. Handwashing is also recommended after handling mail. In order to decontaminate batches of mail before being opened, machines that use bacteria-killing radiation could be used to sterilize the mail. These machines are similar to systems already in place on assembly lines for sterile products, such as bandages and medical devices, but this technique would not be practical for large quantities of mail. In addition, the radiation could damage some of the mail's contents, such as undeveloped photographic film. Microwave radiation or the heat from a clothes iron is not powerful enough to kill the anthrax bacteria.

For those in high-risk professions, an anthrax vaccine is available that is 93% effective in protecting against infection. To provide this immunity, an individual should be given an initial course of three injections, given two weeks apart, followed by booster injections at six, 12, and 18 months and an annual immunization thereafter.

Approximately 30% of those who have been vaccinated against anthrax may notice mild local reactions, such as tenderness at the injection site. Infrequently, there may be a severe local reaction with extensive swelling of the forearm, and a few vaccine recipients may have a more general flu-like reaction to the shot, including muscle and joint aches, headache, and fatigue. Reactions requiring hospitalization are very rare. However, this vaccine is only available to people who are at high risk, including veterinary and laboratory workers, livestock handlers, and military personnel. The vaccine is not recommended for people who have previously recovered from an anthrax infection or for pregnant women. Whether this vaccine would protect against anthrax used as a biological weapon is, as yet, unclear.

Resources

ORGANIZATIONS

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1600 Clifton Rd., NE, Atlanta, GA 30333. (800) 311-3435, (404) 639-3311. 〈http://www.cdc.gov〉.

National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Building 31, Room. 7A-50, 31 Center Drive MSC 2520, Bethesda, MD 20892. 〈http://www.niaid.nih.gov〉.

World Health Organization, Division of Emerging and Other Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Control. Avenue Appia 20, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. (+00 41 22) 791 21 11. 〈http://www.who.int〉.

OTHER

"Anthrax." New York State Department of Health Communicable Disease Fact Sheet. 〈http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/consumer/anthrax.htm〉.

"Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax)." 〈http://web.bu.edu/COHIS/infxns/bacteria/anthrax.htm〉.

Begley, Sharon and Karen Springen. "Anthrax: What You Need to Know: Exposure doesn't guarantee disease, and the illness is treatable." Newsweek October 29, 2001: 40.

Centers for Disease Control. 〈http://www.cdc.gov〉.

Kolata, Gina. "Antibiotics and Antitoxins." New York Times October 23, 2001: Section D, page 4, second column.

Park, Alice. "Anthrax: A Medical Guide." Time 158, no. 19 (October 29, 2001): 44.

Shapiro, Bruce. "Anthrax Anxiety." The Nation 273, no. 4 (November 5, 2001): 4.

Wade, Nicholas. "How a Patient Assassin Does Its Deadly Work." New York Times October 23, 2001: Section D, page 1.

ANTHRAX

Formed: 1981, New York, New York

Members: Charlie Benante, drums (born Bronx, New York, 27 November 1962); Frank Bello, bass (born Bronx, New York, 7 September 1965); John Bush, vocals (born Los Angeles, California, 24 August 1963); Rob Caggiano, guitar (born New York, New York); Scott Ian, guitar (born Scott Rosenfeld, Queens, New York, 31 December 1963). Former members: Joey Belladonna, vocals (born Oswego, New York, 30 October 1960); Dan Lilker, bass (born Queens, New York, 18 October 1964); Dan Spitz, guitar (born Queens, New York, 28 January 1963); Neil Turbin, vocals (born Brooklyn, New York, 24 December 1963).

Genre: Heavy Metal, Rock

Best-selling album since 1990: Sound of White Noise (1993)

Hit songs since 1990: "Bring the Noise" (featuring Public Enemy), "Only"

Anthrax emerged as one of the top thrash/speed metal bands of the 1980s along with Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer. While most vocalists in the genre effected coarse growls, Anthrax's synthesis of hardcore punk's blistering rhythmic aggression and heavy metal's technical precision stood out due to Joey Belladonna's polished vibrato. With no assistance from mainstream radio and minor support from MTV, the group developed a substantial underground following of both skateboarders and headbangers. In the early 1990s, they helped launch the rap-metal movement, but gradually found their audience wane after changing vocalists.

Mutual interest in comic books, skateboarding, and aggressive music brought guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker together to form Anthrax in 1981 in New York City. They were soon joined by drummer Charlie Benante, guitarist Dan Spitz, and several vocalists, until they settled on Neil Turbin. With the band's chugging heavy metal attack and Turbin's superhuman howls they sounded like a neophyte version of Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. Persistent pursuit of Megaforce Records led to a deal and the release of Fistful of Metal (1984). That same year Lilker quit and Turbin was fired. They were replaced by bassist Frank Bello, the group's roadie at the time, and vocalist Joey Belladonna, and the group moved in a new direction.

With blitzkrieg double-bass percussion, lightning-fast riffs, Belladonna's powerful wail, and trademark backing vocal grunts, Anthrax developed a unique sound that captured both heavy metal's virtuosity and hardcore's minimalism. An understated use of guitars distinguished them as thrash, while bands that implemented blistering, classically influenced guitars were more often labeled speed metal. After signing a major-label deal with Island Records, Anthrax released the full-length albums Spreading the Disease (1985), Among the Living (1987), and State of Euphoria (1988) in the 1980s. Throughout the albums, Belladonna narrates stories about comic book and mythical characters, as well as protagonists in several Stephen King works. Their cartoon-like fascination with popular culture is balanced by the dark subject matters involved.

Among the Living 's scathing commentary on America's treatment of Native Americans in "Indians" introduced the more political direction the band was heading. On State of Euphoria, in addition to humorous rants about plagiarism and televangelism, they tackled the plight of New York City's homeless in "Who Cares Wins." MTV claimed the realistic images and statistics in the song's video were too depressing for their viewers, but a few months later put Phil Collins's similarly themed "Another Day in Paradise" into heavy rotation. Collins's video was revered for the same reason Anthrax's was shunned.

Undaunted by the lack of mainstream support, Anthrax forged ahead with their darkest, most socially conscious, and consistent effort to date: Persistence of Time (1990). Leaving their lighthearted side behind, the group repeatedly spoke out against prejudice, hatred, and corruption, and rallied for freedom and change. With several of the tracks measuring six to seven minutes, it was an epic tour de force. It was quickly certified gold and nominated for a Best Metal Performance Grammy Award.

With its new agenda in place, Anthrax teamed up with rap's most political group, Public Enemy, on "Bring the Noise." The highly influential song appeared on Attack of the Killer B's (1991), a b-sides and rarities collection with some new tracks, which, unlike most albums of a similar nature, was not just for die-hard fans. The format enabled them to show a playful side with cover songs, an updated version of their first foray into rap, a parody of sappy heavy metal ballads, and the hilariously foul-mouthed, anti-censorship rant "Startin' Up a Posse."

Spot Light: "Bring the Noise"

In 1991, when Anthrax and Public Enemy teamed up to revamp the latter's 1988 song "Bring the Noise," they ignited rap-metal. Over chunky, rhythmic guitar riffs Public Enemy frontman Chuck D rapped the first two verses, and Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian rapped the last two verses with assistance from bandmates Charlie Benante and Frank Bello. The song's video received steady airplay on MTV and generated a substantial underground buzz in rap, heavy metal, and alternative rock circles. As a result, the groups embarked on a co-headlining tour that broke down musical and racial barriers. The concept of rap lyrics and rock guitars in the same song was not new. Run-D.M.C. introduced the style on "Rock Box" and "King of Rock" in the mid-1980s; artists like the Beastie Boys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers followed suit. Combining rap and metal also had a precedent—Anthrax's "I'm the Man," Faith No More's "Epic," and some Ice-T tracks. Each of these fusions stood out as a novelty but failed to spawn a movement, particularly Run-D.M.C.'s 1986 landmark collaboration with Aerosmith on "Walk This Way." While the "Bring the Noise" single and tour were singular events, 1992 saw three major rap-metal debut albums from Body Count, Biohazard, and Rage Against the Machine. The following year the soundtrack for the thriller Judgment Night was an entire album's worth of heavy metal artists collaborating with rap artists. At the same time, new bands such as Korn, P.O.D., and Limp Bizkit would join Papa Roach, Kid Rock, and Linkin Park to sell millions of records as part of the rap-metal explosion of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Most artists and fans point to "Bring the Noise" as the original inspiration.

As the band's creative output peaked, personal friction between Belladonna and the other members led to his departure. He was replaced by John Bush, longtime vocalist of Los Angeles metal veterans Armored Saint. With a significantly lower growl than Belladonna, his arrival marked a distinctly new course. The band's mesmerizing speed often slowed to a more bludgeoning pulse, while keeping the angrier, more serious direction of Persistence of Time. Despite the changes, the first album with Bush, The Sound of White Noise (1993), was Anthrax's only Top 10 release and went gold faster than all previous efforts. Support for the follow-up, Stomp 442 (1995), was drastically less. Without Belladonna, the band's sound began to blend in with most conventional metal and the group's audience quickly shrunk. With minimal fan interest for Volume 8: The Threat Is Real (1998) and We've Come for You All (2003), seemingly only Belladonna's return could restore the former support for the band.

Anthrax's 1990s work influenced both the rap-metal and nu metal movements that rose to prominence in the late 1990s. They are most revered, though, for their consummate version of thrash metal, which influenced many contemporaries in the 1980s, but was rarely imitated.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Spreading the Disease (Megaforce/Island, 1985); Among the Living (Megaforce/Island, 1987); I'm the Man EP (Megaforce/Island, 1987); State of Euphoria (Megaforce/Island, 1988); Persistence of Time (Megaforce/Island, 1990); Attack of the Killer B's (Island, 1991); The Sound of White Noise (Elektra, 1993).

WEBSITE:

www.anthrax.com.

dave powers

Anthrax

█ BRIAN HOYLE

In the 1990s, the use of biological weapons by terrorists became a serious threat to the security of countries around the globe, and the United States in particular. During the Gulf War of 1990 to 1991, and in subsequent United Nations inspection efforts, the government of Iraq's development of advanced anthrax based bioweapons was revealed.

Although the incidents have not been directly linked, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., anthrax was used as a bioterrorist weapon. Letters containing a powdered form of Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria that causes anthrax, were mailed to representatives of government and the media, among others. Multiple attacks eventually killed five people.

Anthrax refers to a disease that is caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The bacterium can enter the body via a wound in the skin (cutaneous anthrax), via contaminated food or liquid (gastrointestinal anthrax), or can be inhaled (inhalation anthrax). The latter in particular can cause a very serious, even lethal, infection.

The disease has been present throughout recorded history. Its use as a weapon stretches back centuries. Hundreds of years ago, bodies of anthrax victims were dumped into wells, or were catapulted into enemy encampments. Development of anthrax-based weapons was pursued by various governments in World Wars I and II, including those of the United States, Canada, and Britain.

Humans naturally acquire anthrax from exposure to livestock such as sheep or cattle or wild animals. The animals are reservoirs of the anthrax bacterium.

While all three types of anthrax infections are potentially serious, prompt treatment usually cures the cutaneous form. Even with prompt treatment, the gastrointestinal form is lethal in 25%–75% of those who become infected. The inhaled version of anthrax is almost always lethal.

When Bacillus anthracis is actively growing and dividing, it exists as a large "vegetative" cell. But, when the environment is threatening, the bacterium can form a spore and becoming dormant. The spore form can be easily inhaled. Only 8,000 spores, hardly enough to cover a snowflake, are sufficient to cause the inhalation form of anthrax when the spores resuscitate and begin growth in the lungs.

The growing Bacillus anthracis cells have several characteristics that make them so infectious. First, the formation of a capsule around the bacterium can mask the surface from recognition by the body's immune system. The body can be less likely to mount an immune response to the invading bacteria. Also, the capsule helps fend off antibodies and immune cells that do respond. This protection can allow the organism to multiply to large numbers.

The capsule also contains a protein that protects the bacterium. This "protective antigen" dissolves other protein molecules that form part of the outer coating of host cells. This allows the bacterium to evade the host's immune response by burrowing inside host cells such as the epithelial cells that line the lung.

A toxic component called lethal factor actively destroys the host's immune cells. Finally, another toxic factor called the edema factor (edema is the build up of fluid at the site of infection) disables a host molecule called calmodulin. Calmodulin regulates many chemical reactions in the body.

With the various toxic factors, Bacillus anthracis is able to overcome the attempts of the host to deal with the infection. Bacterial toxins enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. The destruction of blood cells and tissues can be lethal.

The early symptoms of anthrax infections are similar to other, less serious infections, such as the flu. By the time the diagnosis is made, the infection can be too advanced to treat. This can make the recognition of a deliberate anthrax attack difficult to recognize until large numbers of casualties have resulted. While the bacteria can be killed by antibiotics, in particular an antibiotic called ciprofloxacin (cipro), the antibiotic needs to be administered early in an infection.

The ease by which anthrax can be transported (i.e., via the mail) has made anthrax a weapon of frightening severity.

A vaccine for anthrax does exist, although the possibility of serious side effects has limited its use to only those at high risk for infection (i.e., soldiers, workers in meat processing plants, anthrax researchers). Vaccine researchers are exploring the possibility that the edema factor and the capsule could be exploited as targets of vaccines. The idea is that the vaccines would stop the bacteria from getting into host cells. This would make it easier for the immune response to kill the invading bacteria.

█ FURTHER READING:

BOOKS:

Heyman, D. A., J. Achterberg, and J. Laszlo. Lessons from the Anthrax Attacks: Implications for U.S. Bioterrorism Preparedness: A Report on a National Forum on Biodefense. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2002.

Koehler, T. M. Anthrax. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 2002.

PERIODICALS:

Jernigan, J. A., D. S. Stevens, D. A. Ashford, et al. "Bioterrorism-Related Inhalational Anthrax: The First 10 Cases Reported in the United States." Emerging Infectious Diseases no. 7 (2001).

ELECTRONIC:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Anthrax." Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases. October 30, 2001. <http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/anthrax_t.htm>(9 December 2002).

SEE ALSO

Anthrax, Terrorist Use as a Biological Weapon
Anthrax Vaccine
Anthrax Weaponization
Antibiotics
Biological Weapons, Genetic Identification
Infectious Disease, Threats to Security
USAMRIID (United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases

Anthrax

Anthrax refers to a pulmonary disease that is caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. This disease has been present since antiquity. It may be the sooty "morain" in the Book of Exodus, and is probably the "burning wind of plague" that begins Homer's Iliad. Accounts by the Huns during their sweep across Eurasia in 80 A.D. describe mass deaths among their horse and cattle attributed to anthrax. These animals, along with sheep, are the primary targets of anthrax. Indeed, loss to European livestock in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries stimulated the search for a cure. In 1876, Robert Koch identified the causative agent of anthrax.

The use of anthrax as a weapon is not a new phenomenon. In ancient times, diseased bodies were used to poison wells, and were catapulted into cities under siege. In modern times, research into the use of anthrax as a weapon was carried out during World Wars I and II. In World War II, Japanese and German prisoners were subjects of medical research, including their susceptibility to anthrax. Allied efforts in Canada, the U.S. and Britain to develop anthrax-based weapons were also active. Britain actually produced five million anthrax cakes at the Porton Down facility, to be dropped on Germany to infect the food chain.

In non-deliberate settings, humans acquire anthrax from exposure to the natural reservoirs of the microorganism; livestock such as sheep or cattle or wild animals. Anthrax has been acquired by workers engaged in shearing sheep, for example.

Human anthrax can occur in three major forms. Cutaneous anthrax refers to the entry of the organism through a cut in the skin. Gastrointestinal anthrax occurs when the organism is ingested in food or water. Finally, inhalation anthrax occurs when the organism is inhaled.

All three forms of the infection are serious, even lethal, if not treated. With prompt treatment, the cutaneous form is often cured. Gastrointestinal anthrax, however, can still be lethal in 25–75% of people who contract it. Inhalation anthrax is almost always fatal.

The inhalation form of anthrax can occur because of the changing state of the organism. Bacillus anthracis can live as a large "vegetative" cell, which undergoes cycles of growth and division. Or, the bacterium can wait out the nutritionally bad times by forming a spore and becoming dormant. The spore is designed to protect the genetic material of the bacterium during hibernation. When conditions are conducive for growth and reproduction the spore resuscitates and active life goes on again. The spore form can be easily inhaled. Only 8,000 spores, hardly enough to cover a snowflake, are sufficient to cause the pulmonary disease when they resuscitate in the warm and humid conditions deep within the lung.

The dangers of an airborne release of anthrax spores is well known. British open-air testing of anthrax weapons in 1941 on Gruinard Island in Scotland rendered the island uninhabitable for five decades. In 1979, an accidental release of a minute quantity of anthrax spores occurred at a bioweapons facility near the Russian city of Sverdlovsk. At least 77 people were sickened and 66 died. All the affected were some four kilometers downwind of the facility. Sheep and cattle up to 50 kilometers downwind became ill.

Three components of Bacillus anthracis are the cause of anthrax. First, the bacterium can form a capsule around itself. The capsule helps shield the bacterium from being recognized by the body's immune system as an invader, and helps fend off antibodies and immune cells that do try to deal with the bacterium. This can allow the organism to multiply to large numbers that overwhelm the immune system. The capsule also contains an antigen that has been designated a protective antigen. The antigen is protective, not to the host being infected, but to the bacterium. The protective antigen dissolves protein, which can allow the bacterium to "punch" through the membrane surrounding cells of the host, such as the epithelial cells that line the lung. One inside the cells, a bacterium is safe from the host's immune defenses. A second toxic component, which is called lethal factor, destroys immune cells of the host. Finally, a third toxic factor is known as edema factor (named because it results in the accumulation of fluid at the site of infection). Edema factor disables a molecule in the host called calmodulin, which is used to regulate many chemical reactions in the body. The end result of the activity of the toxic factors of Bacillus anthracis is to quell the immune response and so, to allow the infection to spread.

As the bacteria gain a foothold, toxins enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body causing destruction of blood cells and tissues. The damage can prove to be overwhelming to treatment efforts and death occurs.

Anthrax infections are difficult to treat because the initial symptoms are similar to other, less serious infections, such as the flu. By the time the diagnosis is made, the infection can be too advanced to treat. A vaccine for anthrax does exist. But to date, only those at high risk for infection (soldiers, workers in meat processing plants, anthrax research scientists) have received the vaccine, due to the possible serious side effects that can occur. Work to establish a safer vaccine is underway. The edema factor may be a potential target of a vaccine. Another promising target is the protective antigen of the capsule. If the action of this antigen could be blocked, the bacteria would not be able to hide inside host cells, and so could be more effectively dealt with by the immune response and with antibiotics .

See also Anthrax, terrorist use of as a biological weapon; Bioterrorism

Anthrax

Forensic science can involve the investigation of an outbreak of illness or the death of an individual that is caused by a microorganism. Some microbes are especially toxic, and so are of forensic concern. A good example is anthrax.

While anthrax is an ancient bacterial disease, the disease again sprang to prominence following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. In the months following these attacks, letters containing a powdered form of Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria that causes anthrax, were mailed to representatives of the U.S. government and the media, among others. Five people who acquired the disease died.

Bacillus anthracis can enter the body via a wound in the skin (cutaneous anthrax), via contaminated food or liquid (gastrointestinal anthrax), or can be inhaled (inhalation anthrax). The latter in particular can cause a very serious, even lethal, infection.

The disease has been present throughout recorded history. Its use as a weapon stretches back centuries. Hundreds of years ago, bodies of anthrax victims were dumped into wells, or were catapulted into enemy encampments. Development of anthrax-based weapons was pursued by various governments in World Wars I and II, including those of the United States, Canada, and Britain.

Humans naturally acquire anthrax from exposure to livestock such as sheep or cattle or wild animals. The animals are reservoirs of the anthrax bacterium.

While all three types of anthrax infections are potentially serious, prompt treatment usually cures the cutaneous form. Even with prompt treatment, the gastrointestinal form is lethal in 25%–75% of those who become infected. The inhaled version of anthrax is almost always lethal.

When Bacillus anthracis is actively growing and dividing, it exists as a large "vegetative" cell. But, when the environment is threatening, the bacterium can form a spore and become dormant. The spore form can be easily inhaled. Approximately 8,000 spores , hardly enough to cover a snowflake, are sufficient to cause the inhalation form of anthrax when the spores resuscitate and begin growth in the lungs.

The growing Bacillus anthracis cells have several characteristics that make them so infectious. First, the formation of a capsule around the bacterium can mask the surface from recognition by the body's immune system . The body can be less likely to mount an immune response to the invading bacteria. Also, the capsule helps fend off antibodies and immune cells that do respond. This protection can allow the organism to multiply to large numbers.

The capsule also contains a protein that protects the bacterium. This protective antigen dissolves other protein molecules that form part of the outer coating of host cells. This allows the bacterium to evade the host's immune response by burrowing inside host cells such as the epithelial cells that line the lung.

A toxic component called lethal factor actively destroys the host's immune cells. Finally, another toxic factor called the edema factor (edema is the build up of fluid in tissues) disables a host molecule called calmodulin. Calmodulin regulates many chemical reactions in the body.

With the various toxic factors, Bacillus anthracis is able to overcome the attempts of the host to deal with the infection. Bacterial toxins enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout the body. The destruction of blood cells and tissues can be lethal.

The early symptoms of anthrax infections are similar to other, less serious infections, such as the flu. By the time the diagnosis is made, the infection can be too advanced to treat. This can make the recognition of a deliberate anthrax attack difficult to recognize until large numbers of casualties have resulted. While the bacteria can be killed by antibiotics , in particular an antibiotic called ciprofloxacin, the antibiotic needs to be administered early in an infection.

A vaccine to anthrax does exist, although the possibility of serious side effects has limited its use to only those at high risk for infection (i.e., soldiers, workers in meat processing plants, anthrax researchers). Vaccine researchers are exploring the possibility that the edema factor and the capsule could be exploited as targets of vaccines . The idea is that the vaccines would stop the bacteria from getting into host cells. This would make it easier for the immune response to kill the invading bacteria.

see also Antibiotics; Biological warfare, advanced diagnostics; Biological weapons, genetic identification; Bioterrorism; Vaccines.

ANTHRAX

Anthrax, a zoonotic disease, is one of the earliest diseases known to man. Worldwide public health surveillance data are not accurate for either animal or human anthrax up to the 1950s, but it is probable that thousands of human cases occurred annually. Since the 1950s, it is estimated that between 2,000 and 5,000 cases of human anthrax have occurred annually.

Anthrax is seen in three forms in humans: cutaneous, inhalational, and gastrointestinal. Cutaneous anthrax begins as a blister on the skin that, within two to six days, develops into a vesicle which, when ruptured, reveals a depressed ulcer covered by a black eschar, or scab. The patient may have a mild fever and slight edema surrounding the lesion. Within one or two weeks the lesion gradually becomes covered with tissue, eventually resulting in a small scar. Treatment is with appropriate antibiotics and hygienic care of the lesion. The mortality rate without treatment is approximately 5 percent.

Inhalational anthrax is a systemic toxic disease that involves the mediastinal lymph nodes. It begins with mild respiratory symptoms, and within one or two days, fever, perspiration, and a falling blood pressure develop rapidly. The result is a toxic shock-like condition, which is followed by death in almost 100 percent of cases. Rapid intravenous treatment with antibiotics may reduce the chance of fatality.

Gastrointestinal anthrax can involve either the oropharyngeal area, which results in swelling, redness, and ulcers, or the gastrointestinal tract, with the development of ulcers, hemorrhage, and edema. With appropriate treatment, the patient recovers within approximately one week. The mortality rate is 5 to 20 percent.

Diagnosis of anthrax is made by clinical history; culturing of secretions from lesions, blood, or spinal fluid; and by epidemiological association with contaminated animal products such as wool, goat hair, hides, dried bones, and tissue from animals that have died from anthrax. Serological tests can also be diagnostic. Meningitis may develop with any form of the disease.

There is a safe and effective human anthrax vaccine. Health education is also important for people that may be exposed to diseased animals or their products. Cutaneous anthrax primarily results from occupational exposure to contaminated animal products. Such exposure may occur in the manufacturing of textiles using goat hair or wool, in handling animal hides or rendered products, and in attending to sick animals. Inhalational anthrax results from the inhalation of spores related to industrial sources. Gastrointestinal anthrax results from eating contaminated meat. A major concern today is the threat of the use of the bacterium that causes anthrax, Bacillus anthracis, as an agent in bioterrorism or biological warfare.

Animal anthrax occurs primarily in herbivores and results from ingestion of Bacillus anthracis in soil or feed. Infected animals develop gastrointestinal anthrax with systemic infection and die with secretions issuing from their bodily orifices. There is a safe and effective animal vaccine, and antibiotic treatment can be curative if started early enough.

Philip S. Brachman

(see also: Communicable Disease Control; Terrorism; Veterinary Public Health; Zoonoses )

anthrax , acute infectious disease of animals that can be secondarily transmitted to humans. It is caused by a bacterium ( Bacillus anthracis ) that primarily affects sheep, horses, hogs, cattle, and goats and is almost always fatal in animals. The bacillus produces toxins that kill cells and cause fluid to accumulate in the body's tissues.

Anthrax spores , which can survive for decades, are found in the soil, and animals typically contract the disease while grazing. Transmission to humans normally occurs through contact with infected animals but can also occur through eating meat from an infected animal or breathing air laden with the spores of the bacilli. The disease is almost entirely occupational, i.e., restricted to individuals who handle hides of animals (e.g., farmers, butchers, and veterinarians) or sort wool.

In the cutaneous, or skin, form of the disease, which is not usually fatal to humans, the bacillus enters the skin through a scratch, cut, or sore. Pustules occur on the hands, face, and neck; if the disease is not treated with antibiotics, the bacteria can migrate to the blood vessels, causing septicemia (blood poisoning) and death. Gastrointestinal anthrax is more likely to be fatal. Nausea, vomiting, and fever can be followed by abdominal bleeding, tissue death, and septicemia. Pulmonary, or inhalation, anthrax begins with flulike symptoms and ultimately causes lesions in the lungs and brain. It is rarer, but is usually fatal if not treated early. Because of this, individuals without symptoms who have been exposed to inhaled anthrax are treated with antibiotics for 60 days.

Anthrax is a well-known, ancient disease; the fifth plague visited upon the Egyptians in Genesis (see plagues of Egypt ) resembles the disease. Pure cultures of the anthrax bacillus were obtained in 1876 by Robert Koch , who demonstrated the relationship of the microbe to the disease. Confirmation of the bacillus as the cause of anthrax was provided by Louis Pasteur , who also developed a method of vaccinating sheep and cattle against the disease. Anthrax is now uncommon in the United States because of widespread vaccination of animals and disinfection of animal products such as hides and wool.

Anthrax spores have been used experimentally by various nations as a biological warfare agent, but effective delivery of anthrax to a population is difficult, and such use is now banned by international convention. Because anthrax has been tested as a biological weapon, the United States has developed a vaccine for military use, but it requires several injections and annual boosters. An accidental release of anthrax from a military laboratory near Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) in the Soviet Union resulted in 68 deaths from pulmonary anthrax in 1979. In 2001 a number of people in the United States were exposed to spores that were sent through the mails and contracted anthrax; several persons died. Although these bioterror attacks occurred shortly after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon , it did not appear to be linked to them.

Bibliography: S. D. Jones, Death in a Small Package (2010).

anthrax A desease caused by the bacillus anthracis, which most commonly occurs in warm-blooded animals and the soil on which they tread. In sufficient quantities its spores can be lethal to humans. As it is easily reproduced in biological laboratories, it has found a military use as a weapon of biological warfare. Exactly one week after the September 11 attacks on the US, a letter was posted in Trenton, NJ, containing lethal spores of anthrax. In the following weeks, a series of letters were posted, one of them to the Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle. None of the addressees were affected, but a number of postal workers were slow to receive attention, and died from exposure to the spores. The attacks heightened a sense of insecurity and vulnerability in a society still in shock from the September 11 attacks, even though the two incidents were almost certainly unrelated.

Anthrax

What Is Anthrax?

How Common Is Anthrax?

How Does a Person Get Anthrax?

What Are the Signs and Symptoms?

How Do Doctors Make the Diagnosis?

What Is the Treatment for Anthrax?

What to Expect

How Is Anthrax Prevented?

Resource

Anthrax (AN-thraks) is a rare infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.

KEYWORDS

for searching the Internet and other reference sources

Bacillus anthracis

Biological warfare

Bioterrorism

What Is Anthrax?

Anthrax is primarily a disease of livestock, such as sheep, cattle, or goats. It is rarely seen in humans, and most cases occur in developing countries. Anthrax is most likely to occur in people whose work regularly

brings them into contact with animal hides, such as those who cut sheep’s wool, livestock handlers, laboratory workers, and veterinarians. The bacterium Bacillus anthracis (buh-SIH-lus an-THRAY-kus) is found naturally in the soil of farming regions all over the world, including parts of the United States. It can exist undisturbed for many years as spores, a temporarily inactive form of the organism with a protective, shell-like coating. Grazing animals typically become infected with anthrax if they eat vegetation or feed contaminated with spores. Livestock in the United States rarely get anthrax.

Over the course of a few days, cutaneous anthrax develops into a sore with a coal-black center. Custom Medical Stock Photo, Inc.

Anthrax in the News

In 2001, just after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., the threat of biological terrorism arose when anthrax spores were discovered in Florida, New York City, and the offices of the United States Congress. More than 20 people showed signs of either inhalation anthrax or cutaneous anthrax. Several of those with the inhalation form of the disease died. In most of those cases, authorities were able to trace the exposure to letters intentionally contaminated with a highly concentrated, aerosolized form of anthrax spores.

Initially, the anthrax threat was assumed to be part of the same terrorist plot that targeted the World Trade Center. Government investigators now believe that a single person without ties to a specific terrorist organization could have mailed the anthrax-laced letters. Regardless of their origin, the letters proved that anthrax can be used as a weapon. The production and release of highly potent forms of anthrax bacteria—to cause illness deliberately in large groups of people—is a type of potential biological warfare, or bioterrorism, that cannot be ignored. As a result, national, state, and local governments and public health officials are planning responses to possible future attacks with biological weapons.

There are three forms of anthrax in humans, each resulting from a different route of infection. Cutaneous (kyoo-TAY-nee-us), or skin, anthrax, the least serious form of the disease, occurs when the bacteria enter a break in the skin. Gastrointestinal* anthrax is caused by eating food contaminated with anthrax bacteria; this form is very rare. The third and deadliest form of the disease, inhalation (in-huh-LAY-shun) anthrax, also called pulmonary anthrax or “woolsorter’s disease,” is also very uncommon and results from breathing in anthrax spores.

*gastrointestinal

(gas-tro-in-TEStih-nuhl) means having to do with the organs of the digestive system, the system that processes food. It includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestines, colon, and rectum and other organs involved in digestion, including the liver and pancreas.

How Common Is Anthrax?

Historians believe that anthrax has been around for thousands of years, at least since the fifth and sixth plagues described in the Bible’s Book of Exodus. Cutaneous anthrax, the most common form of the disease (about 95 percent of anthrax cases), occurs most often in agricultural regions in Asia, Africa, South and Central America, southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. Anthrax is rare in the United States: according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 1955 and 1999 only 236 cases of anthrax were reported in the United States, nearly all the cutaneous form. Before 2001 the last case of inhalation anthrax in the United States was reported in 1978.

How Does a Person Get Anthrax?

Scientists do not believe that anthrax can be passed from person to person. Cutaneous anthrax occurs when someone with a cut, sore, or other break in the skin touches an infected animal or the by-product of an infected animal, such as contaminated hide, wool, or goat hair. Gastrointestinal anthrax usually is traced to contaminated foods, especially undercooked meat. Inhalation anthrax stems from breathing anthrax spores into the lungs. Although spores are inactive forms of the bacteria, they germinate, or become activated, in the moist, warm environment of the lungs. Someone has to inhale thousands of spores to contract the disease, and spores found in soil rarely are concentrated enough to cause inhalation anthrax.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms?

Symptoms of the disease usually appear within 1 to 7 days after infection with Bacillus anthracis and differ according to the way in which a person became infected with the bacterium. The most visible sign of cutaneous anthrax explains how the disease got its name, which is derived from the Greek word anthracis, meaning “coal.” An anthrax skin infection typically begins as a raised, itchy bump, and within a few days it develops into a small sore or ulcer* with a black, coal-like center. Gastrointestinal anthrax can cause nausea, loss of appetite, fever, and severe bloody vomiting and diarrhea. The first symptoms of inhalation anthrax often resemble those of a common cold or influenza and include cough, difficulty in swallowing, headache, swollen lymph nodes* in the neck, and tiredness. Within days the symptoms rapidly progress to severe breathing problems and shock*, often leading to heart failure and death.

*ulcer

is an open sore on the skin or the lining of a hollow body organ, such as the stomach or intestine. It may or may not be painful.

*lymph

(LIMF) nodes are small, bean-shaped masses of tissue containing immune system cells that fight harmful microorganisms. Lymph nodes may swell during infections.

*shock

is a serious condition in which blood pressure is very low and not enough blood flows to the body’s organs and tissues. Untreated, shock may result in death.

How Do Doctors Make the Diagnosis?

Bacillus anthracis bacteria sometimes can be seen in a bit of skin from the sore of a person who has cutaneous anthrax or in the coughed-up mucus* of someone with inhalation anthrax when those samples are viewed under a microscope. To help confirm the diagnosis, samples of blood or fluid taken from the nose or sores are cultured* to identify the anthrax bacteria. Blood tests also are used to detect anthrax antibodies*, which indicate that someone has come into contact with anthrax-causing bacteria and may have the disease. Chest X rays can help diagnose inhalation anthrax.

*mucus

(MYOO-kus) is a thick, slippery substance that lines the insides of many body parts.

*cultured

(KUL-churd) means subjected to a test in which a sample of fluid or tissue from the body is placed in a dish containing material that supports the growth of certain organisms. Typically, within a few days the organisms will grow and can be identified.

*antibodies

(AN-tih-bah-deez) are protein molecules produced by the body’s immune system to help fight specific infections caused by microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses.

What Is the Treatment for Anthrax?

Doctors prescribe antibiotics to fight anthrax infections. Patients with gastrointestinal and inhalation anthrax typically need intensive, round-the-clock care with intravenous* medications and fluids in a hospital. Inhalation anthrax can cause severe breathing problems that may require the use of a respirator, a machine that can assist a person’s breathing until he or she recovers.

*intravenous

(in-tra-VEE-nus) means within or through a vein. For example, medications, fluid, or other substances can be given through a needle or soft tube inserted through the skin’s surface directly into a vein.

What to Expect

Untreated, all three forms of anthrax can lead to widespread infection and death. If it is treated, cutaneous anthrax generally is not fatal. Gastrointestinal anthrax results in death in about half of all cases. Even with medical treatment, inhalation anthrax is often fatal.

How Is Anthrax Prevented?

Agricultural and textile workers in developed countries such as the United States are instructed to wash their hands after working in the soil or handling animals and animal by-products. People who live in high-risk areas of the world are advised to avoid contact with livestock and not to eat improperly prepared or undercooked meat. An anthrax vaccine* exists, but this vaccine is not given routinely in the United States, except to people in the military or to scientists who may come into contact with the bacteria through their research. Veterinarians and people whose jobs involve handling livestock typically are vaccinated against the disease if they work in high-risk areas of the world. In the fall of 2001, when anthrax spores contaminated several U.S. post offices and office buildings (see sidebar), public health experts recommended antibiotics for people who had been exposed to anthrax—even if they had no symptoms of the disease. Officials stressed, however, that it was not necessary or advisable for the general public to take antibiotics to prevent anthrax.

*vaccine

(vak-SEEN) is a preparation of killed or weakened germs, or a part of a germ or product it produces, given to prevent or lessen the severity of the disease that can result if a person is exposed to the germ itself. Use of vaccines for this purpose is called immunization.

See also

Bioterrorism

Vaccination (Immunization)

Resource

Organization

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333. The CDC maintains a website that includes information about anthrax, plus notices about public health threats, vaccinations, and antibiotics.

Telephone 800-311-3435 http://www.cdc.gov

an·thrax / ˈanˌ[unvoicedth]raks/ • n. a notifiable bacterial disease of sheep and cattle, typically affecting the skin and lungs. It can be transmitted to humans, causing severe skin ulceration or a form of pneumonia. ORIGIN: late Middle English: Latin, ‘carbuncle’ (the earliest sense in English), from Greek anthrax, anthrak- ‘coal, carbuncle,’ with reference to the skin ulceration in humans.

anthrax (an-thraks) n. an acute infectious disease of farm animals caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. In humans the disease attacks either the lungs, causing pneumonia, or the skin, producing severe ulceration (malignant pustule). Woolsorter's disease is a serious infection of the skin or lungs by B. anthracis, affecting those handling wool or pelts (see occupational disease). Anthrax can be treated with penicillin or tetracycline.

anthrax Contagious disease, chiefly of livestock, caused by the microbe Bacillus anthracis. Human beings can catch anthrax from contact with infected animals or their hides. In 2001, five US citizens died after contact with mail contaminated by anthrax spores, provoking worries of bio-terrorism.

anthrax ˈænˌthræks n.a serious bacterial disease causing severe skin ulceration or a form of pneumonia. Anthrax spores can survive for long periods of time in harsh conditions, making anthrax a possible biological weapon.

anthrax †carbuncle XIV; disease of sheep and cattle XIX. — late L. — Gr. ánthrax coal, carbuncle.

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