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Course Sample:
While exposure to anthrax is currently of high concern to the medical community, the disease has been recognized for decades. The development of anthrax as a biological agent for offensive purposes is acknowledged by Iraq. A terrorist group in Japan used anthrax and botulism dispersed by aerosol in 1995. The lethal effects of the aerosolized anthrax spores were demonstrated in the former Soviet Union in 1979. Now in October 2001 evidence of multiple exposures to anthrax spores has occurred through the U.S. mail. It is important that health care providers are knowledgeable of the disease and its treatment in order to detect, diagnose and treat exposed individuals in a timely manner and also to reduce public anxiety. This content will explore the issues surrounding the current bioterrorism concerns of anthrax, the known disease patterns and epidemiology, usual symptoms of the disease, medical management and nursing implications, plan of action for potential exposure to anthrax, and Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations. History and Significance Anthrax is known to affect domesticate animals. Individuals exposed to anthrax spores through handling contaminated hair, wool, hides, flesh, blood, and excreta of infected animals can contract the disease. Countries or groups that plan to engage in offensive attacks or biological warfare develop a method for purposeful dissemination of these anthrax spores. In 1969 the United States announced a unilateral dismantlement of the U.S. offensive biological weapons program. The Geneva Convention presented for signing by the worlds nations the protocol on prohibition of development, production and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons and on their destruction in April 1972 and the U.S. ratified the protocol in 1975. Numerous other countries are known to have or are suspected of weaponizing this agent. In 1991 Iraq admitted to a United Nations inspection team that it had done research on the offensive use of anthrax prior to the Persian Gulf War, and in 1995 Iraq admitted to weaponizing the agent. A terrorist group released an aerosolized version of anthrax and botulism in a subway in Tokyo, Japan in 1995 although no one became ill with the diseases. An accidental release of anthrax spores that occurred in 1979 from a Sverdlovsk, USSR military microbiology facility caused 79 cases of anthrax infection and 68 deaths demonstrating the deadly effect of aerosolization of anthrax spores. The agent can be produced in a wet or dry form and stabilized for later use. Anthrax is easily made, easily stored, and can be disseminated quickly. It can be delivered as an aerosol cloud from a line source, such as an aircraft, or from a point source such as a spray device. It can easily cover large ground areas within a short period of time. These properties make it an ideal weapon for unfriendly countries, terrorists, and others with evil intent. In 1998 a group of physicians and researchers formed a consortium, the Working Group on Civilian Biodefense, to study the problem of offensive use of biological agents on the public health of the country. The Working Group developed a consensus statement with recommendations for medical and public health response should such a biological attack take place in the U.S. Epidemiology Animals: |
