Chinanews client, Beijing, August 17 (Reporter Zhang Ni) Recently, the number of confirmed cases of domestic new coronary pneumonia is still increasing, but the emergence of another infectious disease has attracted people’s attention-August 9 Beijing report 1 Exceptionally, he came to Beijing for treatment of pulmonary anthrax cases; a few days later, a suspected skin anthrax outbreak occurred in Wenshui County, Shanxi Province.

　　What kind of infectious disease is anthrax?

Is the fatality rate high?

How to prevent it?

Image source: Official WeChat screenshot of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention

What is anthrax?

　　Anthrax is an infectious disease of animal origin caused by Bacillus anthracis.

Mainly popular among herbivores, such as cattle, sheep, and deer.

　　Bacillus anthracis mainly invades from the skin to cause skin anthracnose, which causes the skin to form eschar ulcers and surrounding abscesses and toxemia. It can also cause inhalation anthrax or gastrointestinal anthrax, which can be complicated by sepsis.

　　According to the classification and regulations of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Law, anthrax and infectious atypical pneumonia, AIDS, viral hepatitis, and new coronavirus pneumonia are equivalent to category B infectious diseases.

The picture shows a herd of cattle on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia.

Photograph by Chen YianYian Image source: CTPphoto

How is anthrax transmitted?

　　Humans are mainly infected through contact with the fur and meat of livestock, and carnivores can also be infected from herbivores and infect humans.

　　People who are in frequent contact with livestock, such as herders, veterinarians, and slaughter workers, have a higher chance of infection.

Hair and skins contaminated by Bacillus anthracis entering processing companies or infected meat entering the market may also cause outbreaks.

　　Human infection with Bacillus anthracis is mainly through contact, and skin anthrax is the most common.

　　Anthrax cannot spread from person to person like flu or new coronary pneumonia.

The probability of being infected by contact with the patient is extremely low. Generally, the skin anthrax lesions can excrete bacteria, and occasionally it can be transmitted from person to person.

Nevertheless, when caring for anthrax cases, contact should be minimized, and personal protection should be done when necessary.

What are the symptoms after infection?

　　Cutaneous anthrax lesions are more common on the exposed skin of the face, neck, shoulders, hands and feet; mainly manifested as local skin edema, macules or papules, blisters, ulcers and eschars; pain is not obvious, slightly itching, no abscesses form.

　　Intestinal anthrax can be manifested as acute enteritis or acute abdomen.

Nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea may occur in the onset of acute enteritis.

Patients with acute abdomen have severe systemic poisoning symptoms, persistent vomiting and diarrhea, discharge of blood and watery stools, abdominal distension, abdominal pain, and often complicated by sepsis and septic shock.

If left untreated, it can often lead to death.

　　Pulmonary anthrax initially has "flu-like" symptoms, manifested by low-grade fever, fatigue, general malaise, myalgia, and cough, which usually lasts about 48 hours.

Then it suddenly develops into an acute illness, with respiratory distress, shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, cyanosis, hemoptysis, etc.

Coma and death can occur quickly, and the mortality rate can reach more than 90%.

Screenshot of the 2020 Statistical Bulletin of my country's Health Development

Will being infected with anthrax cause death?

　　Anthrax is usually sporadic, has a low mortality rate, can be completely cured, and some can even heal itself.

However, inhalation infections caused by severe pollution or ingestion infections caused by infecting livestock's meat may cause outbreaks of inhalation anthrax and gastrointestinal anthrax, with a high mortality rate.

Severely infected people sometimes develop anthrax meningitis.

　　Bacillus anthracis is a bacterium and can be treated with a variety of antibiotics. Penicillin drugs are generally preferred. If you suspect that you may be infected with anthrax, you should go to the hospital in time.

The earlier the treatment, the better the effect.

How to prevent anthrax infection?

　　The main source of anthrax infection is dead animals. If cattle, sheep and other animals are found to be sick or die suddenly, without contact, slaughter, eating, or trading, they should be reported to the local agricultural and animal husbandry department immediately, and the department will deal with it.

　　Once you find that you or someone around you have symptoms of anthrax, you should immediately report to the local health center or disease prevention and control agency, and seek medical attention in time.

　　Pay attention to buying beef and mutton products from formal channels. Beef, mutton and meat products of unknown origin cannot be eaten. They can be eaten safely when they are cooked thoroughly.

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