Disease in the News
Introduction to Health and Disease - HCS/245
October 28, 2013

This article is about Anthrax. It basically tells you about the disease. It starts out by explaining what Anthrax actually is, Pathogenesis, Clinical Manifestations, Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment, and Future Challenges. The article when it was written gave a through explanation to anyone who really didn’t know what Anthrax is all about. Sad to some people Anthrax is not a Heavy Metal from the 80’s. Anthrax is an often serious and fatal bacterial infection that occurs when Bacillus anthracis endospores enter the body through abrasions in the skin or by inhalation or ingestion. ("Anthrax", 2013). Anthrax can be found in soil in the natural sense and routinely affects wild-life around the world. Although it is rare, people can get ill with anthrax if they come in contact with infected or tarnished animals and its products. Severe illness can happen in both humans and animals if they get in contact with anthrax. The bacteria is not contagious, which means you still can’t get anthrax like the common cold or flu.

As far as treatment goes the article does talk about how to treat the disease. There are several alternatives, including antibiotics and antitoxin, which doctors have for treating patients with anthrax. Unfortunately, the more serious case of anthrax, patients will need to be hospitalized. A more aggressive treatment may be required, such as a steady amount fluid drainage and assisted breathing through mechanical ventilation. Antibiotics, including intravenous antibiotics (which is medicine given through the vein) can be used to treat all types of anthrax infection. It is very important to get medical attention as fast as possible if a person has symptoms of anthrax to have a greater chance of a full recovery. Doctors will decide based on the patient’s medical history which antibiotics that are best for treating anthrax. When anthrax spores get inside the body, they can become activated. Anthrax bacteria can reproduce when they become active then produce toxins or poisons that spread throughout the body. Sadly enough, the toxins that are produce in the body by anthrax can cause severe illness. One possible treatment is antitoxin when anthrax toxins have been freed into the body. Antitoxins goal is to target anthrax toxins in the body. The use of antitoxin in combination with other treatment options is what a doctor must consider. Right now and at the time of this article, there are a few types of antitoxins that could be used for treating anthrax. Did this article provide a national or global perspective about the disease, I would say yes. The New England Journal of Medicine article about the anthrax bacteria maybe at the time did provide more of a national perspective then a global perspective. My reason for saying this is because at the time the journal was more national then global. I’m sure there were a lot of doctor and even scientist who would be looking forward to reading this journal like guy looking forward to Sports illustrated and women looking forward to Cosmo….lol. I will say this that the article did state the known use of the bacteria which was in China by the Japanese, Germany use of it towards animals, and during the Korean War (which was denied by the parties who participated) which was very interesting to me because I thought Anthrax was young to the chemical agents. The contribution to this article had a global sense to it when I looked at the reference used in the article. I think this article was ahead of its time when it was published in the journal. Right now, at this moment in time it does bring a national and global perspective about the disease. It’s sad to me that people today take notice only when it hits the news or it become a very relevant issue.

In conclusion, my reason for picking this article is because I was in the United States Armed Forces and while I was in I had to learn about the Anthrax bacteria. I realized that it was something to worry about and prayed that I and my friends would never have to deal with it while overseas. Some of the videos I saw pretty much turn my stomach. Like I send earlier the military were the first to get the series of shots (six shots, one every week until series is completed) then receive a six month booster twice then you get an annual booster shot. The way the shots were explained to me was that it kind of worked like a flu shot. That if exposed to anthrax that shot would help us fight the anthrax bacteria until we get more medical attention. I wish I had this article to help me understand the anthrax bacteria more back when I first heard about it. At the time, when I asked a person about the anthrax bacteria I would get an answer but it just didn't seem to make me feel good about the answer I got. Looking back now, I guess the way I dealt with my worry was not to deal with it until I had to deal with it. I should have done my research to help not only myself but others who felt the same way I did. The one thing that I did notice was that this article didn’t mention the series of shot. It did mention that the military were using the shots though. Please consider that in 1996 the internet was starting to go crazy, it was new to me, and the information on this subject was limited unless you went to library. I do wish I could have found this kind of article to help me back in the day.

References:

Anthrax. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199909093411107