What is anthrax? Anthrax is a disease caused by the bacteria Bacillus Anthracis. This bacteria can be found everywhere but seems to be more prevalent in central and south America. It is in the ground and can be eaten by grazing animals such as cattle and deer. Anthrax is also a disease that can infect animals and humans alike.. Anthrax can infect through ingestion, the skin, and by breathing it in.
Cutaneous infections are infections of the skin. Within a week or less the infected individual will develop small welt like spots that turn into painless open sores with black spots in the center. Untreated, about 1 out of 5 people die from a cutaneous infection. Ingestion is extremely rare and almost unheard of in the United States, it causes loss of appetite, nausea, severe diarrhea and vomiting of blood. Ingestion is fatal in about 25% of cases, (1 in 4). Inhalation is the most fatal of all, it is not contagious but without treatment it is almost always fatal.
Anthrax can be acquired by handling wool and animal fur. In England anthrax was called rag pickers disease or wool sorters disease because it was only people in those trades that acquired the disease. Anthrax can also be contracted by handing the wool or fur of infected animals and also consumption of undercooked infected meat can infect the consumer. It has been suggested that the plague of boils in ancient Egypt was Anthrax. Even today anthrax can and does effect livestock and animals that graze.
The first recorded use of anthrax as a weapon in the history of anthrax was in 1915 when anthrax was injected into livestock to be released to the enemy. In 1937 Japan began a biological warfare program and anthrax was a part of their program and the U.S. began developing Anthrax in 1943. It amazes me the time and imagination humans will put into finding newer ways to destroy other humans. in 1954 the first anthrax vaccines for human use was developed.
More recently in Anthrax history, Aug 6, 2008 it was reported that CNN founder Ted Turners Flying D Ranch in Montana and two days later on the 8th it was reported the death toll had risen to 175. Due to the Anthrax outbreak in the Bison, as a precaution the county has closed a nine mile stretch of road leading to the ranch.
An interesting twist to the whole Anthrax vaccine is that part of the demand required for Bioweaponry in anthrax is the Anthrax strain must be more virulent than typically found in the wild and it MUST be resistant to vaccines. I am sure if the U.S. government has thought this out, then it is likely that any other nation with the technology and forethought to create an anthrax weapon would likely be seeking the development of the same resistant strains. All it takes is a small genetic mutation to make something no longer viably stopped by a vaccine, this is why the flu and common cold are hard to target. This again raises the question, to what effect or purpose is the vaccine.
http://health.utah.gov/epi/fact_sheets/anthrax.html
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/anthrax-overview
http://www.gwu.edu/~cih/anthraxinfo/info/info_history.htm
http://www.belgrade-news.com/view.php?article=9490
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/12/2251257
Disclaimer: This article, “The History of Anthrax”, is not intended to give medical advice. It is a call to educate yourself so that in making a decision where your child is concerned, you should take an active role in learning all you can from medical experts on both sides of the fence, then make an educated decision. we did not make an informed decision until one son got Leukemia and another developed Autism immediately after receiving his MMR vaccine. This has sent us on a quest to inform ourselves and others to seriously question what kind of toxic soups are being injected with the vaccines. Odds are if your child is injured by a vaccine, you have little or no recompense against the industry.
