Anthrax and Bioterrorism

Abstract

Bioterrorism is the deliberate discharge or dissemination of viruses, bacteria, or other germs used to cause sickness or death in people, animals, or plants. Though these agents are found in nature they are usually modified to increase their ability to cause disease, make them resistant to current antibiotics, or to increase their ability to be spread into the environment. Biological agents can be spread through the air, through water, or in food. Terrorists may use biological agents because they can be extremely difficult to detect and do not cause illness for several hours to several days. Among these biological agents, Anthrax is considered to be the Category-A agent because of its high potency for adverse public health impact and serious effect on large-scale dissemination. Though there is a big hue and cry in the recent past about bioterrorism particularly after 9/11 attack, the history of bioterrorism is fairly old. In the present paper, we have sketched the history and the evolution of bioterrorism with reference to anthrax, particularly microbiology and pathogenesis of the disease causing agent and its clinical symptoms and treatments.