Anthrax

An acute infection caused by the spore-forming bacteria BACILLUS ANTHRACIS. It commonly affects hoofed animals such as sheep and goats. Infection in humans often involves the skin (cutaneous anthrax), the lungs (inhalation anthrax), or the gastrointestinal tract. Anthrax is not contagious and can be treated with antibiotics.

Networked: 1592 relevant articles (140 outcomes, 146 trials/studies)

Relationship Network

Disease Context: Research Results

Related Diseases

1.	Infection
2.	Plague (Bubonic Plague)
3.	Tularemia
4.	Inflammation
5.	Human Influenza (Influenza)

Experts

1.	Leppla, Stephen H: 74 articles (11/2015 - 02/2002)
2.	Moayeri, Mahtab: 40 articles (10/2015 - 02/2002)
3.	Quinn, Conrad P: 27 articles (11/2015 - 10/2002)
4.	Liu, Shihui: 24 articles (10/2015 - 02/2002)
5.	Tang, Wei-Jen: 20 articles (07/2015 - 01/2002)
6.	Bhatnagar, Rakesh: 19 articles (12/2015 - 04/2002)
7.	Schneewind, Olaf: 17 articles (12/2015 - 07/2005)
8.	Frankel, Arthur E: 17 articles (10/2015 - 02/2002)
9.	Beyer, Wolfgang: 15 articles (07/2015 - 07/2003)
10.	Duesbery, Nicholas S: 15 articles (01/2013 - 03/2002)

Drugs and Biologics

Drugs and Important Biological Agents (IBA) related to Anthrax:

1.	AntigensIBA 10/01/2006 - "Although the PA shows strong immunogenicity, the capsule or spore-associated somatic antigens may be important as additional vaccine targets for full protection against anthrax. " 02/01/2005 - "Rapid protection against anthrax is required in a bioterrorism scenario; this study describes an in vivo gene transfer-based therapy that uses a human adenovirus (Ad)-based vector (AdalphaPAscAb) encoding a single-chain antibody directed against protective antigen (PA), a critical component of Bacillus anthracis lethal toxin. " 02/01/2014 - "Intramuscular delivery of adenovirus serotype 5 vector expressing humanized protective antigen induces rapid protection against anthrax that may bypass intranasally originated preexisting adenovirus immunity." 09/01/1955 - "An antigen prepared in vitro effective for immunization against anthrax. " 09/01/1955 - "An antigen prepared in vitro effective for immunization against anthrax. "
2.	anthrax toxin (anthrax lethal factor)IBA 01/01/2012 - "In an effort to develop an improved anthrax vaccine that shows high potency, five different anthrax protective antigen (PA)-adjuvant vaccine formulations that were previously found to be efficacious in a nonhuman primate model were evaluated for their efficacy in a rabbit pulmonary challenge model using Bacillus anthracis Ames strain spores. " 10/01/2005 - "14:1673-1682, 2003) that a single administration of a recombinant serotype 5 adenovirus (Ad) vector expressing anthrax protective antigen (PA) provides rapid protection against anthrax lethal toxin challenge. " 05/28/2004 - "The high affinity of the VWA domain for PA supports its potency in neutralizing anthrax toxin, demonstrating its potential utility as a novel therapeutic for anthrax." 02/01/1992 - "The protective efficacy of immunization against anthrax with Bacillus anthracis protective antigen (PA) combined with different adjuvants was tested in Hartley guinea pigs and CBA/J and A/J mice. " 12/01/1995 - "The efficacy of several human anthrax vaccine candidates comprised of different adjuvants together with Bacillus anthracis protective antigen (PA) was evaluated in guinea pigs challenged by an aerosol of virulent B. "
3.	AntibodiesIBA 09/01/2004 - "The polyclonal antiserum from rabbits immunized with rPA could inhibit the action of anthrax lethal toxin in vitro, which suggests that antibodies against rPA can provide high passive protection against anthrax. " 11/01/2007 - "Taken together, these results support the concept of rBclA as being a safe and effective boost for a PA-primed individual against anthrax and further suggest that such rBclA-enhanced protection occurs by the induction of spore-opsonizing and germination-inhibiting antibodies." 04/16/2002 - "Human antibodies against spores of the genus Bacillus: a model study for detection of and protection against anthrax and the bioterrorist threat." 01/01/2010 - "[Recombinant antibodies for medical protection against bioterrorism agents: the example of anthrax]." 01/01/2008 - "While antibody to PA is sufficient to mediate protection against anthrax in animal models, it is not known if antibodies to LF or EF contribute to protection in humans. "
4.	VaccinesIBA 08/01/2002 - "While many advances have been achieved in the understanding of this disease, research is required into the genotypic grouping of anthrax isolates, improved field diagnostic techniques, and oral vaccines, as well as to provide a better understanding of spore survival in soil and the ecology of the disease under natural conditions." 08/01/2002 - "It concluded that the present vaccine was completely safe and effective, but ignored evidence of several recent research studies from three different nations that have implicated vaccines, often including anthrax vaccine, in the epidemiology of Gulf War illnesses. " 10/01/2007 - "Improved vaccines and adjuvants are being developed to reduce the threat posed by a terrorist attack involving aerosolized anthrax spores. " 11/17/2006 - "Multiagent vaccines vectored by Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus replicon elicits immune responses to Marburg virus and protection against anthrax and botulinum neurotoxin in mice." 06/01/1984 - "The authors relate the early work performed by Pasteur, the development of existing vaccines and the efficacy of these vaccines, and predict the type of non-living vaccines which may be used to combat anthrax in the future."
5.	Anti-Bacterial Agents (Antibiotics)IBA 02/01/2009 - "A short course of antibiotic treatment is effective in preventing death from experimental inhalational anthrax after discontinuing antibiotics." 10/18/2005 - "Other than administration of antibiotics shortly after exposure, there is currently no approved effective treatment for inhalational anthrax. " 01/15/2004 - "Currently there is no effective treatment for inhalational anthrax beyond administration of antibiotics shortly after exposure. " 01/01/2014 - "Raxibacumab provides additional protection against inhalational anthrax via a mechanism different from that of either antibiotics or active immunization. " 01/01/2013 - "To study these events in primates, we assayed banked serum from Papio baboons that had undergone a brief challenge of intravenous Bacillus anthracis delta Sterne (modified to remove toxins) followed by antibiotics (anthrax) that causes organ failure and death. "
6.	Cutaneous anthraxIBA 04/01/2002 - "The safety and efficacy of the use of the anthrax vaccine as a prophylactic against inhalation anthrax have been questioned by both military and medical organizations. " 07/01/1998 - "Comparative efficacy of experimental anthrax vaccine candidates against inhalation anthrax in rhesus macaques." 09/01/2007 - "Pathologic changes in AGMs were remarkably similar to what has been reported in rhesus macaques and humans that succumbed to inhalational anthrax; thus, AGMs could serve as useful models for inhalation anthrax studies." 12/01/2015 - "Cutaneous anthrax is well known, unlike anthrax of the lumbar region, which is not reported elsewhere. " 11/01/2015 - "We conducted a systematic review of antitoxin treatment of inhalation anthrax in humans and experimental animals to inform antitoxin recommendations during a large-scale or mass anthrax incident. "
7.	Ciprofloxacin (Cipro)FDA LinkGeneric 07/01/2011 - "The aim of this study was to compare the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of ciprofloxacin as post-exposure therapy against inhalational anthrax in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) with other non-human primate models in order to determine whether the marmoset is a suitable model to test post-exposure therapies for anthrax. " 01/01/2012 - "Ciprofloxacin is a gold standard for the treatment of anthrax. " 02/01/2006 - "Similarly, when AVP-21D9 antibody (10 to 50 mg/kg) was combined with a low, nonprotective dose of ciprofloxacin (3.7 mg/kg/day) and administered to guinea pigs for 6 days, synergistic protection against anthrax was observed. " 09/01/2008 - "The current standard of care for inhalational anthrax postexposure prophylaxis is ciprofloxacin therapy twice daily for 60 days. " 08/01/2004 - "This article presents the scientific data and regulatory mechanism that supported the approval of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride for management of postexposure of inhalational anthrax."
8.	Anthrax VaccinesIBA 05/01/2012 - "Workers exposed to raw goat hair should be offered higher protection against anthrax and have access to anthrax vaccines." 01/01/2007 - "Killed anthrax vaccines appear to be effective in reducing the risk of contracting anthrax with low rate of adverse effects. " 01/01/2000 - "Killed anthrax vaccines appear to be effective in reducing the risk of contracting anthrax with a relatively low rate of adverse effects. " 01/01/1988 - "This mouse model will be useful in characterizing the pathogenesis of anthrax and testing the safety and efficacy of new anthrax vaccines." 01/01/2009 - "We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of individuals and cluster-RCTs comparing anthrax vaccine with placebo, other (non-anthrax) vaccines, or no intervention; or comparing administration routes or treatment regimens of anthrax vaccine. "
9.	DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)IBA 09/14/2004 - "A cationic lipid-formulated plasmid DNA vaccine confers sustained antibody-mediated protection against aerosolized anthrax spores." 10/01/2004 - "Recently, novel plasmid DNA (pDNA) approaches to a safe and effective anthrax vaccine have been proposed. " 10/01/2004 - "DNA vaccination against anthrax is an active area of research showing promising results at present, which in the short-term and in the future could form the basis for new advances in multi-agent vaccine development. " 02/01/2015 - "anthracis strain, named AP429 was constructed by integrating into the chromosome a translational fusion harboring the DNA fragments encoding the cell wall-targeting domain of the S-layer protein EA1 and the anthrax PA. " 01/01/2015 - "Finally, DNA vaccination with electroporation induced a significant increase in immunogenicity and successfully protected the mice against anthrax spore challenge. "
10.	Neutralizing AntibodiesIBA 11/27/2015 - "The current anthrax vaccine requires improvements for rapidly invoking longer-lasting neutralizing antibody responses with fewer doses from a well-defined formulation. " 01/01/2015 - "A Novel Chimeric Anti-PA Neutralizing Antibody for Postexposure Prophylaxis and Treatment of Anthrax." 03/01/2013 - "cereus anthrax-like disease in mice is dependent on pagA1 and PA-neutralizing antibodies provide protection, AVA immunization may also protect humans from respiratory anthrax-like death." 01/01/2012 - "Development of an in vitro potency assay for anti-anthrax lethal toxin neutralizing antibodies." 08/05/2008 - "These results demonstrate a reliable in vivo neutralization method that correlates with standard in vitro measures of neutralizing antibody levels in plasma from individuals vaccinated with the standard anthrax vaccine. "

Therapies and Procedures

1.	Injections 06/26/2013 - "A new anthrax vaccine that could accelerate the immune response and possibly reduce the number of injections needed for protection would be desirable in a post-exposure setting. " 09/01/2012 - "Serological responses of rPA anthrax vaccine were investigated in guinea pigs that were given single or two injections (interval of 4 weeks) of various amounts of rPA combined with aluminumhydroxide adjuvant. " 11/01/2010 - "In December 2009, the first recorded case of injectable anthrax in the UK was diagnosed in Glasgow, Scotland. " 02/01/2006 - "Anthrax vaccine is administered in a series of six injections at 0, 2, and 4 weeks and 6, 12, and 18 months, followed by annual boosters. " 09/14/2004 - "Immune responses after two or three injections of cationic lipid-formulated PA, PA plus LF, or LF pDNAs were at least equivalent to two doses of anthrax vaccine adsorbed (AVA). "
2.	Intramuscular Injections 02/12/2014 - "Effect of reduced dose schedules and intramuscular injection of anthrax vaccine adsorbed on immunological response and safety profile: a randomized trial." 10/01/2006 - "This MAb was effective in prophylactic and postsymptomatic treatment of rabbits exposed to aerosolized anthrax spores, and a single intramuscular injection of 1 mg/kg of body weight fully protected cynomolgus monkeys challenged with aerosolized anthrax spores. " 11/01/2012 - "A three-dose intramuscular injection schedule of anthrax vaccine adsorbed generates sustained humoral and cellular immune responses to protective antigen and provides long-term protection against inhalation anthrax in rhesus macaques." 09/01/2007 - "This recombinant Protective Antigen anthrax vaccine, when given with the adjuvant Alhydrogel to healthy adults in two intramuscular injections four weeks apart, is very well-tolerated and highly immunogenic." 01/01/2009 - "In addition, ChimeriVax-JE against yellow fever was administered to nonhuman primates by microneedles and generated protective levels of neutralizing antibodies that were more than seven times greater than those obtained with subcutaneous delivery; DNA plasmids encoding hepatitis B surface antigen were administered to mice and antibody and T cell responses at least as strong as hypodermic injections were generated; recombinant protective antigen of Bacillus anthracis was administered to rabbits and provided complete protection from lethal aerosol anthrax spore challenge at a lower dose than intramuscular injection; and DNA plasmids encoding four vaccinia virus genes administered to mice in combination with electroporation generated neutralizing antibodies that apparently included both Th1 and Th2 responses. "
3.	Intranasal Administration 05/04/2007 - "The data suggests that intranasal administration may be an effective immunization modality for an improved immunization program against anthrax." 05/01/2007 - "Intranasal administration of dry powder anthrax vaccine provides protection against lethal aerosol spore challenge." 02/01/2008 - "Furthermore, prophylactic intranasal administration of PO R10-60 significantly delayed death in mice exposed to respiratory anthrax comparable to the PS ISS-ODN. "
4.	Therapeutics 10/01/2006 - "New and improved therapeutics are needed for Bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax. " 03/06/2015 - "Thus, our studies show the potential of VNAs as anthrax therapeutics. " 11/01/2012 - "These DN mutants of PA identified in our study may provide valuable information for elucidating the structure-function relationship of PA and for designing therapeutics for anthrax treatment." 03/18/2005 - "Our studies suggest that the individual toxin components and the complex must be considered as critical targets for anthrax therapeutics." 09/01/2015 - "Identifying the factors responsible for survival and virulence of Bacillus anthracis within the host is prerequisite for the development of therapeutics against anthrax. "
5.	Antibiotic Prophylaxis 05/06/2015 - "An example of how back-calculation can inform mitigation strategies completes the review by providing improved estimates of the duration of antibiotic prophylaxis that would be required in the response to an inhalational anthrax outbreak." 12/01/2012 - "Given the importance of antibiotic prophylaxis in a future anthrax attack, it should be a priority to better support racial/ethnic minorities in mass dispensing programs. " 09/01/2012 - "Our findings support the US government's plan to provide antibiotic prophylaxis and vaccination for all exposed people within 48 hours of the recognition of a large-scale anthrax attack. " 09/01/2012 - "We conclude that postattack antibiotic prophylaxis and vaccination of all exposed people is the optimal cost-effective response strategy for a large-scale anthrax attack. " 09/01/2012 - "We estimated that postattack antibiotic prophylaxis of all 1,390,000 anthrax-exposed people beginning on Day 2 after attack would result in 205,835 infected victims, 35,049 fulminant victims, and 28,612 deaths. "