Bacterial agents anthrax

Bacterial agents, such as Bacillus anthracis (the causative agent for anthrax), or Yersinia pestis (the causative agent for plague). 

Anthrax Bacterial agent that may cause inhalation anthrax, cutaneous anthrax, or gastrointestinal anthrax disease. 

Figure 1.4. Paul Ehrlich. Paul Ehrlich was a German Jewish physician and scientist, who was inspired by and initially worked with Robert Koch (who discovered the causative bacterial agents of Anthrax, Tuberculosis, and Cholera). Left Ehrlich s portrait on a 200 deutschmarks bill (now obsolete).

Among anti-bacterial agents, the simplest must be isoniazide (Rimifon), an important anti-tuberculosis drug. Heterocyclic contributions to mainstream antibiotics include a group of quinolones e.g. the broad-spectrum anti-bacterial ciprofloxacin (Cipro) perhaps best known in connection with terrorist use of anthrax and the diamino-pyrimidine trimethoprim (Triprim). Many of the sulfonamides, the hrst synthetic antibiotics, contain heterocyclic residues. 

Slow-acting, noncontagious biological agents. These agents, which include viruses as well as the bacterial causative agents for anthrax and tularemia, produce no initial symptoms, but cause flu-like symptoms after a... 

The anthrax bioterrorist attacks that followed the events of September 11th 2001 resulted in a renewed interest BadUus anthracis, the causative agent of this disease. Research has focused on the development of better vaccines than the one currently available. It has been estimated that the aerosolized release of 100 kg of anthrax spores upwind of Washington DC would cause mortalities of 130,000-3,000,000 [63]. Nonetheless, wild-type Bacillus anthracis is susceptible to conventional antibiotics, including penicillin, oxyfloxacin and ciprofloxacin. The problem lies not with the bacterial infection itself, but with three proteins released by the bacteria - protective antigen (PA, 83 kDa), lethal factor (LF, 90 kDa) and edema factor (EF, 89 kDa) -known as anthrax toxins [63]. 

Another biological threat agent that could potentially be used in a terrorist attack is bacterial spores. This is similar to the anthrax incidents of 2001. In our studies. Bacillus cereus was used as a surrogate for B. anlhracis to evaluate the sorption of... 

---