Bacillus anthracis infection in humans and animals

Abstract

Bacillus anthracis is the zoonotic agent that causes the disease known as anthrax. This pathogen has always been high on the list of potential agents with respect to biological warfare and bioweapons. B. anthracis causes severe respiratory, and cutaneous as well as gastrointestinal infections in humans. Among animals, the group most susceptible to infection are ruminants, in which the most common route of infection is local damage to the mucous membrane of the oral cavity and/or gastrointestinal tract, less often the development of a widespread disease as a result of inhalation of spores. This review describes various features associated with pathogenicity-related factors of B. anthracis, pathogenesis of anthrax, human and animal forms of the disease, and the possibility of preventing and treating the disease. The article also mentions the potential use of the bacteria for bioterrorism as a biological weapon.