Bacillus Anthracis :: Medical Biology Bacteria Essays

Bacillus Anthracis Background: Bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive spore-forming rod. It was the first bacterium to be used to prove that bacteria caused diseases, when Robert Koch (1877) produced anthrax spores and injected them into animals. Bacillus anthracis is a commonly found in soil of grazing areas. Bacillus anthracis is not a major threat to humans and natural cases are rare even where spores are present. Encounter: Bacillus anthracis is commonly found in soil in low amounts. It affects livestock and can be transmitted to humans through improper handing of an infected animal or by eating undercooked meat from the animal. It is rare for human-to-human infection. Types of Infections and Symptoms: There are 3 main ways that anthrax can infect you. Cutaneous infections are the most common and the least deadly. The normal infection produces a small painless ulcer. If left untreated the Bacillus anthracis may make its way into the bloodstream and death will occur in about 20% of cases. Intestinal infection which comes from eating undercooked meat, and is more deadly then a cutaneous infection but less deadly then a inhalation infection. The symptoms are severe stomach pains along with diarrhea. The death rate if left untreated is between 25% and 60%. Inhalation infection is the most deadly of the infections and happens when you inhale Bacillus anthracis spores. The disease initialy resembles the common cold. This is not the uncommon type of infection, however it is important because of the possible bio-terrorism that could be associated with it. It is fatal if left untreated How it avoids the immune system and damages the host: Bacillus anthracis is a unique because it’s the only one that has a capsule of poly-D-glutamate polypeptide. The capsule helps the bacteria avoid being phagocitzed. This lets the bacteria gain a foothold inside the host. Bacillus anthracis toxin is an A-B toxin comprised of 3 protiens. The protective antigen the edema factor, and lethal factor. Individually all 3 proteins are harmless, but when together they are able to attack the lungs. The first protein is the protective antigen which helps neutralize antitoxin antibodies. The edema factor protein helps bolster the Virulence and is responable for seeking out the target cells. The last protein is the lethal factor, which is protein that is causes cell death. The toxin seeks out our cells, and is able to injects the toxin directly into them, the toxin is deadly inside the cell and quickly produces cell death.