Anthrax (disease) facts for kids

Photomicrograph of a Gram stain of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, the cause of the anthrax disease

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 ungulates (some hoofed creatures, like camels and giraffes). The spores 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 weapon.

See also

In Spanish: Carbunco para niños