Anthrax was used in a deadly assault on the USA just days after 9/11, with the disease weaponised for its brutalising effects on people.
Netflix is exploring this disturbing act in its new documentary, The Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow of 9/11, which is available on the platform now.
It explores the true events which transpired after the world-changing terrorist attack, in which letters containing fatal anthrax spores sparked panic and tragedy in the USA.
Anthrax itself is a naturally occurring disease that is spread through bacteria.
There are various different types of anthrax, each as deadly as the other and all can be easily caught by humans.
Here is everything you need to know about the disease, including the symptoms to look out for.
What is anthrax?
Anthrax is a disease that is caused by spore-forming bacteria, bacillus anthracis, and can make people affected by it ill in several different ways.
It demands on how a person is exposed to it, as the disease can take different forms.
It mainly affects livestock, but humans can become infected through direct or indirect contact with sick animals.
How does anthrax affect the body?
Anthrax affects the body in several different ways, but a common symptom is a skin infection, with raised bumps across the skin that become blistered.
There is also a severe digestive illness that can be confused with food poisoning.
Flu-like symptoms can also be observed, such as coughing, muscle aches and a fever.
All three are dependant on how a person catches anthrax to begin with, as there are different forms that can enter the body in numerous ways.
These forms are as follows:
- Cutaneous anthrax: Starts with a skin rash that resembles raised bumps. Soon it becomes a blister, and then an ulcer.
- Intestinal anthrax: Begins with nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, and fever. Those symptoms are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe diarrhoea.
- Inhalation anthrax: Starts with flu-like symptoms that last two to three days, and then appear to go away for one or two days before returning. This can result in severe lung problems.
After contracting anthrax, symptoms typically show up within seven days.
The long-term side affects of anthrax are still be studied, though people caught in the attacks of 2001 have reported ongoing psychological distress.
A study by JAMA one year after the attacks found “that many of the anthrax-infected survivors continued to report significant health problems, psychological distress, poor life adjustment, and a loss of functional capacity 1 year after the onset of infection.”
READ MORE
