Q: What is anthrax?
A: Anthrax is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Bacillus anthracis mainly invades from the skin to cause cutaneous anthrax, which causes the skin to form eschar ulcers and surrounding abscesses and toxemia, and can also cause inhalation anthrax or gastrointestinal anthrax, which can be complicated by sepsis!
In addition, Bacillus anthracis can form spores in the external environment, and the spores have strong resistance to dryness, high heat, ultraviolet rays and some commonly used chemical disinfectants.
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Q: What are the symptoms of cutaneous anthrax?
A: Cutaneous anthrax lesions are more common on the skin of exposed areas such as the face, neck, shoulders, and arms.
The main manifestations are: local skin edema, macules or papules, blisters, followed by the formation of ulcerative black eschar, local pain is not obvious, there is a slight itching, no abscess formation, can be accompanied by fever, headache, joint pain, regional lymphadenopathy, general malaise and other toxicemia symptoms.
Q: How does anthrax infect people?
Answer: 1. Contact infection: This type of route is the most common, the broken skin directly touches the diseased animal or its blood, excrement, milk, internal organs, etc., or is infected by the skin, flesh, bone meal, etc. with Bacillus anthracis or spores, usually causing cutaneous anthrax, accounting for more than 95%!
2. Oral infection: mainly ingested food contaminated by the bacteria. Such as air-dried beef that has not been processed by high heat. This can trigger intestinal anthrax!
3. Inhalation infection: This infection route is relatively rare. It is mainly caused by inhalation of dust and aerosols contaminated with anthrax spores, which may cause pulmonary anthrax. It often occurs in people involved in fur processing.
Q: Can anthrax spread "from person to person"?
A: The probability is low but it is occasional!So when you come into contact with a case of anthrax, you should pay attention to personal protection and avoid contact with the skin exudate, vomit, body fluids and excretion of the case.
Q: Who is at high risk of anthrax?
A: Occupational groups are high-risk groups, including cattle and sheep breeding, slaughtering and trafficking personnel, veterinarians, or people engaged in cattle and sheep product processing and other industries.
Q: How can the public prevent cutaneous anthrax?
A: The most important thing for the public to take precautions is not to come into contact with the source of infection. Personnel engaged in cattle, sheep and other animal breeding, slaughtering, processing and other industries should strictly take protective measures when working, wear protective equipment such as work clothes, hats, masks, etc., strictly prohibit smoking and eating at work, and do a good job of hand hygiene after work.
The source of anthrax infection is mainly sick and dead animals, if cattle, sheep and other animals are found to be sick or die suddenly, do not touch, do not slaughter, do not eat, and can not buy and sell, immediately report to the local agriculture and animal husbandry department, and professional personnel will deal with it.
Q: Can beef and mutton still be eaten with confidence?
Answer: The meat purchased through formal channels has passed the quarantine and can be eaten with confidence, and must not eat sick and dead beef, mutton and meat products from unknown sources.
When processing meat, attention should be paid to separating raw and cooked, and meat should be cooked thoroughly before eating. These measures prevent not only anthrax, but also other infectious diseases.
Author: Wu Song
Source: Shenyang Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Editor: Pei Li
Proofreading: Zhao Xue
Preliminary review: Lian Zhiyong
Review: Xu Jiang