Health Department
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The Stanly County Health Department does NOT test for anthrax. People should contact their health care provider to determine if they need to be tested for anthrax exposure. The health department does NOT have the anthrax or small pox vaccines. These vaccines are not available to the general population at this time. Anthrax is an acute infection caused by the spore-forming
bacterium Bacillus antracis. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Anthrax is not contagious - it does not pass person-to-person. Therefore, there is no need to immunize or treat contacts of persons ill with anthrax, such as household contacts, friends, or coworkers, unless they were also exposed to the same source of infection. Anthrax is treatable. there are a number of antibiotics that are used to treat people exposed to anthrax. These antibiotics prevent the person from developing anthrax after exposure to it. A vaccination against anthrax is not recommended for the general public to prevent disease and is not available. There is no screening test for anthrax. The tests you hear about (nasal swabs & blood) only determine the extent of exposure in a given building or workplace. SYMPTOMS Symptoms of the disease vary depending upon how the disease was contracted. Symptoms usually develop within seven days after exposure. The serious forms of anthrax are inhalation anthrax, cutaneous anthrax, and intestinal anthrax. FORMS Inhalation anthrax occurs when particles of anthrax are breathed into the lungs. Initial symptoms of inhalation anthrax infection may resemble a common cold. After several days, the symptoms may progress to severe breathing problems and shock. Inhalation anthrax is often fatal. Cutaneous anthrax occurs when anthrax comes in contact with the skin and a skin lesion develops. The lesion looks like a brown recluse spider - swelling on the skin with a central area of ulceration of a depression, and then a scab forms over that central area. It can be painless and there may or may not be a fever. The intestinal disease form of anthrax may follow eating food contaminated with anthrax. It is characterized by an acute inflammation of the intestinal tract. Initial signs of nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, and fever are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe diarrhea.
SMALLPOX Smallpox is caused by the variola virus. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Routine vaccination against smallpox ended in 1972. The level of immunity, if any, among persons vaccinated before 1972 is uncertain. Therefore, these persons are assumed to not be protected against smallpox. Vaccination against small pox is not recommended to prevent disease in the general public, so it is not available to the public. If the public needs to be vaccinated, the vaccine will be made available. Smallpox is spread from person to person by infected saliva droplets. Persons with smallpox are most infectious during the first week of the illness, because that is when the largest amount of the virus is present in saliva. There is some risk of transmission until all the scabs have fallen off. SYMPTOMS The incubation period is about 12 days (range: 7 to 17 days) following exposure. Initial symptoms include high fever, fatigue, and head and back aches. A characteristic rash, most prominent on the face, arms, and legs, follows in 2-3 days. The rash starts with flat red lesions that evolve at the same rate. These lesions become pus-filled and begin to crust early in the second week. Scabs develop and then separate and fall off after about 3-4 weeks. The majority of people recover, but death occurs in up to 30% of the cases. There is no proven treatment for smallpox. However if people exposed to smallpox are given the vaccine within four days after exposure, the disease can be prevented or the severity of the disease is lessened. People with smallpox are given medical treatment to control pain, fever, or dehydration. Antibiotics are given for any secondary infection. This information is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information, access the CDC website at www.cdc.gov or call the Stanly County Health Department at 704-982-9171.
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This page was last updated on 10/10/08 |
ANTHRAX