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The powerful signals the immune system sends in an attempt to remove the pathogen can also make us sick as well as help us. If the immune signals are unsuccessful, they can actually damage the body they were designed to protect. All of these virulence (, disease-causing) factors are used by Bacillus anthracis. RESERVOIRS Just as a water reservoir stores water for later use, a disease reservoir contains infectious organisms between disease outbreaks. For anthrax, the disease reservoir is spores that remain in suspended animation in the soil, ready to become living, disease-causing bacteria when they enter an animal or human.

Over the next week, the sore became full of f luid and covered with 35 36 ANTHRAX a bl ack scab. The man vi s i ted his doctor and began anti bi o tic therapy. The next day he was ad m i t ted to the hospital with fever, ch i ll s , and pain and swelling in his arm . He was d i a gnosed with cut a n eous anthrax and given intravenous anti bi o tics. He recovered and retu rned to work in late August. No anthrax bacteria could be isolated f rom his bl ood or wound ti s su e , but his bl ood did con t a i n antibodies to anthrax.

4b is a normal chest X-ray. Notice that the mediastinum is much smaller. Antibiotics are often ineffective on inhalational anthrax, which is the most deadly form of anthrax. becomes mu ch worse. 4b), becom e s wo ll en with Bacillus anthracis and wh i te bl ood cells tryi n g to fight the infecti on . The lu n gs fill with fluid and bl ood pre s su re drop s . 4b A normal chest X-ray. 4a. When a person contracts inhalational anthrax, white blood cells and fluid collect in this area of the chest, in an attempt to fight the disease, causing the mediastinum to appear much larger in a chest X-ray.