Research Report on Pathogenic Bacterium (Other (Not Listed) Sample)

Research Report on Pathogenic Bacterium
Name
Institution
DateResearch Report on Pathogenic Bacterium
Introduction
Bacillus anthracis is one of the most dreaded bacterium across the continents. It causes anthrax, which is a disease that also stands at the apex of the hierarchy of the most contagious contagions. The genus Bacillus has Bacillus anthracis as its solitary obligate pathogen. The bacterium traces its name to anthrakis, which means ‘coal’ in Greek. The appellation is due to the black lesions that form in dermal anthrax infection (Bergman, 2011, p. 79).
One of the disease’s transmission method is through inhalation that occurs when humans or animals inhale the bacterium. Another mode encompasses cutaneous infection that involves the bacterium’s entrance into the body through the epidermis. Additionally, Bacillus anthracis may infect the human body through the alimentary canal. There are also scenarios of anthrax meningitis, which are due to extreme situations of anthrax infections (Spencer, 2003, p. 184).
Literature Review
In the year 1850, Casimir Davaine and Pierre Rayer received plaudits for their identification of anthrax after comprehending the actuality of organisms with rod-like shapes in the blood of humans and animals that were victims of the disease. In the year 1860, Davaine clinched that the rod-like organisms were the source of anthrax because the symptoms of the malady did not emanate in sheep that lacked contact with the bacterium. Robert Koch cultured Bacillus anthracis in 1876, which enabled him to apprehend anthrax’s life cycle. In 1881, Louis Pasteur throve in his development of the illness’s main vaccine (Bergman, 2011, p. 107-109). Despite the success in the vaccine’s development, it is still expensive, and most countries cannot afford it for their populations. However, the existence of penicillin sees that there is a continuance of life when anthrax infections occur because it is an operative antibiotic for treating the ailment (Spencer, 2003, p. 184-185).
Anthrax remains a threat to the entire world because the advancements in its study lead to its use a biological weapon. For instance, eleven persons became victims of bioterrorism in the United States of America in the year 2002 after receiving and opening letters that had powders contaminated with Bacillus anthracis (Spencer, 2003, p. 182).
Materials and Methodology
This research report relies on previous studies done by researchers such as Davaine and Koch. It also looks at the existing statistical data on the infections caused by inhalation, cutaneous, and inhalation. The report only focuses on the three ways by which the bacterium can enter the body and cause an infection because they are the main methods. Additionally, the report depends on existing literature to give the background facts on the Bacillus anthracis bacterium.
Findings
Humans contract anthrax mainly by coming into physical contact with animals that suffer from the disease. This may be by touching the animals’ wool and hides or by consuming the meat of infected animals. In addition, the principal hosts of Bacillus anthracis are herbivore animals such as sheep and cows because they graze and may end up ingesting the bacterium. Bacillus anthracis survives in the soil. Moreover, infection through the respiratory system occurs mainly in closed industries where there is the production of wool and hides at high scale (Spencer, 2003, p. 183).
Furthermore, the most common method through which humans contract anthrax is cutaneous. The bacterium penetrates the cuticle when there is a cut, when an insect bites the person, or when there is a bruise on the epidermis. Statistics attest that more than ninety percentage of anthrax infections in humans is via the integument. Inhalation and alimentary ways of infection account for the remaining ten percent of the cases (Spencer, 2003, p. 183-184).
Anthrax has dissimilar symptoms depending on the method of infection. For cutaneous septicity, the symptoms are itchy bumps/blisters on the skin and skin sores that have black centers, but with no pain. In the case of inhalation, the patients experience fever, difficulty in breathing, dizziness, nausea, sweating...