Anthrax

Except for Streptococcus pneumoniae, no organism has contributed more to our understanding of basic infectious disease principles than Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. B. anthracis was the first clearly recognized bacterial pathogen when, in 1850, Rayer described filiform bodies i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 1994-12, Vol.19 (6), p.1009-1014
Main Author: LAFORCE, F. M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agrology
Animals
Anthrax
Anthrax - drug therapy
Anthrax - etiology
Anthrax - pathology
Anthrax - prevention & control
Anthrax vaccine
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Bacillus anthracis
Bacillus anthracis - physiology
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial diseases of the skin
Biological and medical sciences
Edema
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infections
Infectious diseases
Inhalation
Medical sciences
Radiography, Thoracic
Soil pollution
Spores
State-of-the-Art Clinical Article
Vaccination
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Summary:Except for Streptococcus pneumoniae, no organism has contributed more to our understanding of basic infectious disease principles than Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. B. anthracis was the first clearly recognized bacterial pathogen when, in 1850, Rayer described filiform bodies in the blood of animals dying of anthrax. In 1863 Davaine showed that anthrax could be transmitted to experimental animals by subcutaneous inoculation of infected blood. The life cycle of the organism was unraveled by Koch, who recognized the importance of a dormant spore stage for perpetuation of the organism in soil. From these studies came the unimicrobial theory of infections, and Koch's postulates became part of the vocabulary of the experimental microbiologist. A few years later Pasteur successfully attenuated strains of B. anthracis and proved that these strains could protect sheep from fully virulent strains of the organism. Last, the recognition of woolsorters' disease (inhalation anthrax), an unusual but dangerous industrial infection, was an important stimulus to the development of the discipline of industrial hygiene and industrial microbiology.
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1093/clinids/19.6.1009