Anthrax: A narrative review
Sumel Ashique, Aritra Biswas, Sourav Mohanto, Shriyansh Srivastava, Md Sadique Hussain, Mohammed Gulzar Ahmed, Vetriselvan Subramaniyan
Abstract
Bacillus anthracis is a zoonotic bacterium, majorly responsible for causing human anthrax and the possibility of the outbreak spreading globally. Herbivorous animals serve as the inherent reservoir for the disease, whereas all endothermic species are vulnerable. Humans contract the disease inadvertently by contact with diseased animals or animal products or through the consumption or handling of infected flesh. There is no such reported data indicating the transmission of anthrax from human to human, which further does not guarantee the bacterium's mutations and new transmission route. Nevertheless, it can lead to various infections, including endophthalmitis, bacteremia, cutaneous infection, central nervous system infection, and pneumonia. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the present epidemiological situation of human anthrax in densely populated nations, including the altered symptoms, indications in people, and the method of transmission. This article highlights the current diagnostic methods for human anthrax in the event of another outbreak or pandemic, further examines the available therapy options and future perspectives in treatment protocol. This narrative review resulted from a simple search strategy on “PubMed”, “ScienceDirect”, “ClinicalTrials.gov” and web reports using “AND” as Boolean operator with search keywords, i.e., “Anthrax” AND “Infection”, “Anthrax” AND “Pandemic”, “Anthrax” AND “Infectious disease”, “Anthrax” AND “Vaccine”, “Anthrax” AND “Diagnosis” shows minimal narrative literature in between 2024 to 2005. Furthermore, this narrative review highlights the potential approaches for detecting anthrax infection, establishing suitable protocols for prevention, and focusing on the current epidemiology and available therapeutics, vaccine and its future developmental strategies in the event of another pandemic. • Bacillus anthracis is a zoonotic bacterium causing human anthrax. • No transmission from human to human reported till date. • Causing endophthalmitis, bacteremia, cutaneous infection, and pneumonia. • X-CP, PCR, ELISA can be the probable diagnostic measure for anthrax. • The BioThrax and AV7909 vaccine development for human anthrax.