Anthrax

[Sarah]

Awesome metal band. Even if you don't know who they are you probably know of [Scott Ian], the band's lead guitarist and backup vocalist -- he is usually a commentator on VH1 programs.

Synonyms: [Metallica], [Motorhead], [Pantera]

Antonyms: [Linkin Park], [Godsmack], [Staind]

[exinilu]

Anthrax is a potentially fatal infection with Bacillus anthracis, a gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria (see figure How Bacteria Shape Up). Anthrax may affect the skin, the lungs, or, rarely, the digestive (gastrointestinal) tract.

Infection in people usually results from skin contact but can result from inhaling anthrax spores or eating contaminated meat.
Anthrax spores are a potential biological weapon.
Anthrax bacteria produce several toxins, which cause many of the symptoms.
Symptoms include bumps and blisters (after skin contact), difficulty breathing and chest pain (after inhaling spores), and abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea (after eating contaminated meat).
Symptoms suggest the infection, and identifying the bacteria in samples taken from infected tissue confirms the diagnosis.
People at high risk of being exposed to anthrax are vaccinated.
Antibiotics must be given soon after exposure to reduce the risk of dying.

(See also Overview of Bacteria.)
Anthrax can occur in wild and domestic animals that graze, such as cattle, sheep, and goats. Anthrax bacteria produce spores that can live for years in soil. Grazing animals become infected when they have contact with or consume the spores. Usually, anthrax is transmitted to people when they have contact with infected animals or animal products (such as wool, hides, and hair). Spores may remain in animal products for decades and are not easily killed by cold or heat. Even minimal contact is likely to result in infection. Although infection in people usually occurs through the skin, it can also result from inhaling spores or eating contaminated, undercooked meat.
Skin anthrax may be spread from person to person by direct contact with an infected person or an object contaminated by an infected person. However, anthrax due to inhaling spores (inhalation anthrax) or due to eating contaminated meat (gastrointestinal anthrax) is not spread from person to person.
Anthrax is a potential biological weapon because anthrax spores can be spread through the air and inhaled. In the U.S. anthrax bioattacks of 2001, spores were spread in envelopes mailed via the United States Postal Service.
Anthrax bacteria produce several toxins, which cause many of the symptoms.

[Jessica]

A serious bacterial disease of sheep and cattle, causing acute and often fatal septicemia, and also transmissible to humans.

[Britney]

a disease that causes fever, swelling, and often death in animals, especially sheep and cattle (= male and female cows) , and can be passed on to humans