by Karoline Inong

Created on: May 25, 2009

Anthrax is caused by a large, spore-forming, rectangular shaped bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. All mammals are susceptible to anthrax but ruminants such as cattle are more commonly infected with it. It can also be passed from animal to human, in other words it is a zoonotic disease. However, in the United States anthrax is endemic and occurs sporadically throughout the country.

During the vegetative stage of anthrax, the cells of the agent multiply in the lymph nodes of susceptible animals and humans. When the cells of Bacillus anthracis escape from the body of the animal and are essentially exposed to the oxygen, it is then that they essentially create the spores. These spores are highly resistant to cold, heat, , chemical disinfectants, and long dry periods. These spores of anthrax can also live in the environment for decades.

Like some diseases anthrax can be spread within an area by streams, insects, wild animals and birds, and contamination from wastes of infected animals. Anthrax can also continue to be in nature by host such as a wildlife reservoir and then can essentially be shed over into the livestock population. Cattle and other animals are typically infected by ingesting soil borne spores such as contaminated food or water. The spores can also be picked up directly form the soil through grazing or from feed that has been grown on infected soil. Often in times of drought, the cattle will graze closer to the ground and may ingest the spores in the soil accidentally while eating the forage. Flooding is a concern too as the concentration of the spores in standing water increases when preexisting or transitory ponds begin to evaporate. If you feed your cattle herd bone meal, protein concentrates, and excreta spores of anthrax may be present in them. Spores can also be present in the tissue and body fluids of infected carcasses so therefore shouldn't be fed to cattle or any other animals.

Disease from the Anthrax occurs when the spores actually enter the body, germinate and multiply and then start to release toxins. If the cow is naturally infected the incubation period is usually 3-7 days with a range of 1-14 days or more. Clinical signs often go unnoticed in a single animal until death and then it is noticed because there will be bloody discharges coming out from the natural body openings as well as edema in different parts of the body. Once a cow has contract anthrax it will only take a matter of hours before it dies. The body also decomposes

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