7. Anthrax
You might be familiar with anthrax from the anthrax attacks in September 2001 in the U.S., which killed five people and sickened 17, and which collectively are considered the worst biological attack in U.S. history.
You might be familiar with anthrax from the anthrax attacks in September 2001 in the U.S., which killed five people and sickened 17, and which collectively are considered the worst biological attack in U.S. history.
Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which lives in soil and usually infects wild and domestic animals, such as goats, cattle and sheep. Humans usually get the disease when they handle infected livestock or animal products. Though you can get anthrax when bacteria spores enter your skin, those who work with animal hides or wool that may be infected with anthrax are also susceptible to inhaling B. anthracis. This pulmonary method of infection with the disease is more lethal, with 92 percent of reported cases resulting in death.
8. MRSA “superbug”
Short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA is a type of “staph” bacterium that is capable of causing life-threatening skin and bloodstream infections and is resistant to most antibiotics used to treat such infections.
MRSA’s resistance to antibiotics began in the 1940s, when doctors started treating staph infections with penicillin. The overuse (and misuse) of the drug helped microbes evolve resistance to penicillin within a decade, according to a feature in Harvard Magazine, causing doctors to start treating staph infections with the drug methicillin. But MRSA developed resistance to methicillin, as well. In fact, the superbug is now resistant to many penicillin-like antibiotics, including amoxicillin, oxacillin, dicloxacillin and all others in the beta-lactam class of antibiotics.
Staph infections on the skin typically start off as small red bumps but can turn into large abscesses that need to be surgically drained, according to the Mayo Clinic. More serious infections with the bacteria can occur throughout the body, including the blood, heart and bones. Such infections can be deadly.