What is Anthrax?
{{for|the American band|Anthrax (US band)}} {{Infobox disease | Name = Anthrax | Image = Bacillus anthracis Gram.jpg | Caption = [[Photomicrograph]] of a [[Gram stain]] of the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis'', the cause of the anthrax disease | DiseasesDB = 1203 | ICD10 = {{ICD10|A|22|minor|LinkGroup|LinkMajor}} | ICD9 = {{ICD9|022}} | ICDO = | OMIM = | OMIM_mult = {{OMIM2|606410}} {{OMIM2|608041}} | MedlinePlus = 001325 | eMedicineSubj = med | eMedicineTopic = 148 | MeshID = D000881 }} '''Anthrax''', or '''splenic fever''', is a [[disease]]. Both humans and other animals can get it. It is caused by the [[bacterium]] [[bacillus anthracis]]. It is common with [[even-toed ungulate]]s (some hoofed creatures, like camels and giraffes). The [[spore]]s of the bacteria can live for hundreds of years. Humans usually catch the disease from animals. It is usually not passed from one human to another. Anthrax can be treated with [[antibiotics]]. There is also a [[vaccine]] against it. If not treated, anthrax often leads to death. == Types of anthrax == There are 89 different strains (kinds) of anthrax. One of them, the Ames strain, was used against the [[United States]] in 2001 as a [[biological warfare|biological weapon]]. == History == === Outbreaks === On April 2, 1979, there was a leak at one of the plants just outside of Sverdlovsk that made anthrax during the Cold War. 94 people were infected and 64 of those people died. The USSR blamed the deaths on another strain of anthrax that the people caught by digesting infected meat. However, later it was revealed that the outbreak was caused by an accidental release of the bacteria from a nearby plant which developed biological weapons for the USSR. <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/plague/sverdlovsk/ |title=frontline: plague war: the 1979 anthrax leak |work=pbs.org |accessdate=November 14, 2010 }}</ref> In September 2001, several letters containing anthrax were [[2001 anthrax attacks|mailed to several USA media compa