Some Peculiarities of Anthrax Epidemiology in Herbivorous and Carnivorous Animals

Abstract

Anthrax is an especially dangerous zooanthroponosis caused by the Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. A notable feature of this disease is the difference in susceptibility to it among different groups of animals. Anthrax primarily affects herbivorous ungulate mammals; they are easily infected, and their disease often leads to rapid, even sudden, death. However, predators and scavengers are extremely resistant to anthrax, and if they become infected, they usually become mildly ill. As the result of the increased sensitivity of ungulates to anthrax and the possibility of disease transmission from them to humans, most studies of anthrax have focused on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of infection in farm animals and humans. The issues of anthrax in other animals, such as predators, and the peculiarities of anthrax epidemiology in wild ungulates have not been sufficiently detailed in the literature. In this article, we provide a review of literature sources that describe the differential susceptibility to infection of various groups of animals to anthrax and some epidemiological features of anthrax in animals that are not the main hosts of B. anthracis.

Human Anthrax: Update of the Diagnosis and Treatment

“…and wildlife (elephant, bison, buffalo, zebras, etc.) with occasional outbreaks in humans, with recent cases being reported from most areas of the world excluding northern and central Europe [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Industrial anthrax is the result of occupational exposure to spore-contaminated animal products such as wool and hair, which accounted for 50% or more of human cases until late in the 20th century [ 18 ] ( Table 1 ).…”

“…Anthrax is an ancient zoonotic disease which primarily infects herbivores with humans occasionally being infected. While naturally occurring, it remains a health problem in low- and middle-income countries; its potential misuse as a biological weapon puts all communities at risk [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Although the human form of the disease is rarely seen in western countries, human cases have been reported.…”

JMM Profile: Bacillus anthracis

“…Relevant factors may include host stress, dry vegetation causing alimentary microtrauma, surface water concentrating spores, a growth of contaminated vegetation, and animals congregating near water and carcasses [25,43,55]. Mammalian and avian scavengers will open carcasses (promoting sporulation) and, along with blowflies, can disperse high concentrations of spores [16,25,36,43]. Animal outbreaks probably reflect these factors, plus in some cases biting fly transmission [1,18,43,56].…”

Verbal autopsy and outbreak investigation of anthrax in Livestock and Wildlife at the Virunga National Park Interface Area, Democratic Republic of the Congo

“…This has resulted in under-reporting of the disease and, in some cases, neglected; thus, anthrax endemism and outbreak intensity has been characterized at extremely coarse scales. In animals and humans, the bacterium is often found in the vegetative form, but on exposure to air, it forms highly resistant spores that can remain viable for many years in some soils and therefore serves as a source of infection to grazing herbivores (Bakhteeva and Timofeev, 2022;Finke et al, 2020;Turner et al, 2014;Valseth et al, 2017). Thus, the ability of B. anthracis to form long-lasting, highly resistant spores is central to the persistence of anthrax in an area.…”