Why was anthrax created ?

Answer 1

Anthrax was not 'created.' It is a naturally occurring disease.

Answer 2

Anthrax is a animal disease. Rarely did humans contract the disease. Because it's a bacteria, the spores can live for along time in our enviorment. They usually contimainate the soil, animals will eat grass and thus become infected. Anthrax spores multiple rapidly, killing off an animal or person immune system cells. It's highly toxic.

Supposedly, many research laboratories are studying strains of anthrax. To see which antibotics work, to understand the progression of the disease.

Answer 3

Most who have answered don't have a bean for a brain. Anthrax is from a mold and is usually found on fur bearing animals who graze. The disease in humans has often been referred to as the Wool worker's disease. If you remember that a musician recently went to Africa seeking heads for african drums dying from Anthrax poison, he got it off the drum heads. Cattle, sheep, deer, goats, camels and anything else that grazes can expose you.

Answer 4

Anthrax is actually naturally occuring. It's sometimes found in manure and farm land. However it is not nearly as deadly as weapons grade anthrax, which is just made for war. This, like any other chemical or biological agent is refined as a killer.

Answer 5

You would have to ask God that. Anthrax is a livestock disease that has been around for 100's of years. It is not man made. In the early 20th century if one cow got it they would did a big ditch move the whole heard into the whole and kill them. Then the land they had been grazing on was burned and quarantined.

Answer 6

Anthrax is a natural disease - a bacteria. It was concentrated to use as a weapon in the 1960s. It was actually known in biblical times - see the timeline link below.

Answer 7

Anthrax was not "created." It is a common disease in ruminant animals (i.e. cattle and sheep) but mostly in cattle. It's just that humans have isolated that bacteria strain and mass produced it to do harm to other humans.

For more information, please refer to my "source" material.

Answer 8

Date: Wed Jun 18 12:47:35 2003
Posted By: June Wingert, RM(NRM),Associate Scientist
Area of science: Microbiology
ID: 1053965987.Mi Message:


The anthrax bacillus, Bacillus anthracis, was the first bacterium shown to be
the cause of a disease. In 1877, Robert Koch grew the organism in pure culture,
demonstrated its ability to form endospores, and produced experimental anthrax
by injecting it into animals.


Robert Koch's original micrographs of the anthrax bacillus
Bacillus anthracis is very large, Gram-positive, sporeforming rod, 1 - 1.2�m in
width x 3 - 5�m in length. The bacterium can be cultivated in ordinary nutrient
medium under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Genotypically and phenotypically
it is very similar to Bacillus cereus, which is found in soil habitats around
the world, and to Bacillus thuringiensis, the pathogen for larvae of
Lepidoptera. The three species have the same cellular size and morphology and
form oval spores located centrally in a nonswollen sporangium.

Bacillus thuringiensis is distinguished from B. cereus or B. anthracis by its
pathogenicity for Lepidopteran insects (moths and caterpillars) and by
production of an intracellular parasporal crystal in association with spore
formation. The bacteria and protein crystals are sold as "Bt" insecticide,
which is used for the biological control of certain garden and crop pests.
Bacillus cereus is a normal inhabitant of the soil, but it can be regularly
isolated from foods such as grains and spices. B. cereuscauses two types of
food-borne intoxications (as opposed to infections). One type is characterized
by nausea and vomiting and abdominal cramps and has an incubation period of 1
to 6 hours. It resembles Staphylococcus aureus food poisoning in its symptoms
and incubation period. This is the "short-incubation" or emetic form of the
disease. The second type is manifested primarily by abdominal cramps and
diarrhea with an incubation period of 8 to 16 hours. Diarrhea may be a small
volume or profuse and watery. This type is referred to as the "long-incubation"
or diarrheal form of the disease, and it resembles food poisoning caused by
Clostridium perfringens. In either type, the illness usually lasts less than
24 hours after onset.
The short-incubation form is caused by a preformed heat-stable enterotoxin of
molecular weight less than 5,000 daltons. The mechanism and site of action of
this toxin are unknown. The long-incubation form of illness is mediated by a
heat-labile enterotoxin (molecular weight of approximately 50,000 daltons)
which activates intestinal adenylate cyclase and causes intestinal fluid
secretion.
http://www.bact.wisc.edu/Bact330/lectureanthrax

Thanks for taking the time to send in a question to the MadSci Network

June Wingert
Associate Scientist

Answer 9

Really good question. I dont know the answer though. Sorry

Answer 10

Because God is a mean sumbitch..