What is anthrax?
Anthrax is a disease caused by the rod-shaped bacterium Bacillus anthracis. When not actively infecting sheep or moose or people, the bug forms hard-shelled spores and goes into a kind of hibernation. These spores are hardy little things, resistant to sunlight, heat and disinfectant. They have been known to survive in soil for 80 years.
How do you catch it?
You can contract anthrax by inhaling a lot of spores (at least 8,000 to 10,000), by eating contaminated meat or by coming into contact with the bacterium through an open wound. The same bug causes all three forms...
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