Anthrax-causing bacteria have dwelled in soil for centuries – cycling through people, animals and earth
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The Bottom Line
Anthrax-causing bacteria persist in soil worldwide, cycling between animals, humans, and earth for centuries.
How This Affects You
If you work in livestock, tanning, wool sorting, or butchering, you face highest occupational risk of anthrax infection; modern antibiotics improve survival if treatment is administered promptly.
AI Summary
*Bacillus anthracis*, the bacterium causing anthrax, persists in soil worldwide and cycles between animals, humans, and earth in a natural ecological loop that has endured for centuries. The bacteria form spores capable of surviving over 50 years and can remain dormant for decades in alkaline soil until ingested or inhaled by cattle, deer, or people. Infected livestock typically die within 48 hours if untreated, after which the bacteria return to soil through carcasses to complete the cycle. Humans contract anthrax primarily through occupational exposure—tanners, wool sorters, and butchers face the highest risk—with symptoms ranging from skin lesions to fatal inhalation disease. While inhalation anthrax historically killed 95% of patients, modern antibiotic and monoclonal antibody treatments significantly improve survival when administered promptly.
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