Bacillus anthracis
From IDWiki
- Causes anthrax
Background
Microbiology
- Gram-positive bacillus that is distinguished from other Bacillus species by being non-motile and non-hemolytic
- Colonies are gray, flat, and may have a "Medusa head" or "comet" appearance
Clinical Manifestations
Cutaneous anthrax
- Caused by inoculation of spores into soft tissue
- Incubation period of 2 to 5 days
- Lesion develops at site of inoculation, starting as erythemaous papule, then ulceration, then eschar
- May progress to sepsis
Pulmonary anthrax
- Caused by inhalation of spores
- Also known as woolsorter's disease
- Start with malaise, fever, and nonproductive cough, followed by respiratory distress, severe pulmonary edema, and death
Gastrointestinal anthrax
- Caused by ingestion of spores
- Infects oropharynx or abdomen
- Causes sepsis
References
- ^ Tucker Maxson, Thiphasone Kongphet-Tran, Thitipong Mongkolrattanothai, Tatiana Travis, Katherine Hendricks, Corinne Parker, Heather P McLaughlin, Julia Bugrysheva, Frank Ambrosio, Pierre Michel, Blake Cherney, Christine Lascols, David Sue. Systematic Review of In Vitro Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing for Bacillus anthracis, 1947–2019. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2022;75(Supplement_3):S373-S378. doi:10.1093/cid/ciac520.
