All about Antrax

What it is all about

What is ‘Anthrax’?
Anthrax is an infection caused by a bug (bacteria) which can be found in animals that eat grass in Asia, Africa, Central and South America and occasionally in parts of Europe. The bacteria can live in a dried out form called a ‘spore’ for years.

What kind of ‘infection’ does it cause?
The commonest type of anthrax infection is of the skin. The spore may get in through a little cut or break in the skin. This form of infection tends to occur amongst those working in leather factories and farmers, but even then it is incredibly rare. Even rarer is a form of anthrax which causes infection of people’s lungs. This can occur when someone breathes in the spores (it needs for them to inhale about 10,000 of the anthrax spores to get the infection).

How common is anthrax in the UK?
There are around 60 million people in the UK. In the last 20 years there have been only 14 reported cases of anthrax in the UK. The last time a person died from anthrax in the UK was almost 30 years ago.