anthrax

[ an-thraks ]

noun

, Pathology.

, plural an·thra·ces [an, -thr, uh, -seez].

1. an infectious, often fatal disease of cattle, sheep, and other mammals, caused by Bacillus anthracis, transmitted to humans by contaminated wool, raw meat, or other animal products.
2. a malignant carbuncle that is the diagnostic lesion of anthrax disease in humans.

anthrax

/ ˈænθræks /

noun

1. a highly infectious and often fatal disease of herbivores, esp cattle and sheep, characterized by fever, enlarged spleen, and swelling of the throat. Carnivores are relatively resistant. It is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis and can be transmitted to man
2. a pustule or other lesion caused by this disease

anthrax

/ ăn′thrăks′ /

1. An infectious, usually fatal disease of mammals, especially cattle and sheep, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The disease is transmitted to humans through cutaneous contact, ingestion, or inhalation. Cutaneous anthrax is marked by the formation of a necrotic skin ulcer, high fever, and toxemia. Inhalation anthrax leads to severe pneumonia that is usually fatal.

anthrax

1. An infectious disease transmitted by a bacterium in animals, which can also be transmitted to humans. Often fatal if the bacterium enters the lungs, anthrax is usually treated by antibiotics . Anthrax is a potential weapon in germ warfare and bioterrorism (see also bioterrorism ).

Notes

After the September 11 attacks (2001) in the United States, anthrax spores sent through the mail caused several fatalities.

If spores are prepared in a sophisticated way, they can stay in the air and be breathed in by human beings. Anthrax produced in this way is referred to as weaponized anthrax.

Word History and Origins

Origin of anthrax¹

1350–1400; Middle English antrax malignant boil or growth < Latin anthrax carbuncle < Greek ánthrax a coal, carbuncle

Word History and Origins

Origin of anthrax¹

C19: from Late Latin, from Greek: carbuncle

Example Sentences

The son is reportedly part of a new generation of young drug lords who called themselves “the Anthrax Group.”

From The Daily Beast

Where better to test cultures of anthrax, typhoid, plague and tularemia than on an island in a sea in the middle of the desert?

From The Daily Beast

As a result of the small size of the spores, anthrax is virtually impossible to see, smell, or taste.

From The Daily Beast

News that 75 government scientists had been exposed to anthrax in Atlanta sent shivers up the spine of the science world Thursday.

From The Daily Beast

“Anthrax could be released in a city, quietly, without anyone knowing,” the narrator says.

From The Daily Beast

Around it I find only some scanty relics of its meals, consisting chiefly of Anthrax-wings, half-diaphanous and half-clouded.

From Project Gutenberg

Plague, anthrax, yellow fever, cannot exist in one country without harm to all.

From Project Gutenberg

Pick off any colonies resembling those of anthrax and subcultivate on all the ordinary laboratory media.

From Project Gutenberg

It has been suggested that the horse flies carry anthrax, and their bites sometimes cause malignant pustules.

From Project Gutenberg

A similar structure exists in the other species of Anthrax with slight variations of detail.

From Project Gutenberg