Anthrax

July 11th 2023

In recent years Anthrax has perhaps been best known for inspiring cultural references rather than as a potentially deadly infection.

It gave name to the eighties band out of New York City that roamed with Slayer, Megadeth, and Metallica as the four big beasts of thrash metal. The name chosen by guitarist Scott Ian after he came across it in a science book and felt it was “sufficiently evil”.

Then in 2021 the director Jane Campion won an Oscar for The Power of The Dog, a drama set a century ago on the plains of Montana when – spoiler alert – subtle anthrax infection proves the downfall of a baddie.

Aldous Huxley, Stephen King, and Anthony Horowitz are just some of the A-list authors who have been inspired by the grim history of anthrax and its use potential as a biological weapon.

Outside of chemical manufacture, anthrax poisoning is caused by exposure to spores of Bacillus Anthracis which are absorbed through breathing in, consumption or an open wound.

There are many examples of anthrax striking after lying dormant for decades. One of the more infamous had its roots in a 1968 outbreak in Siberia. It killed a number of reindeer with the carcass of one becoming frozen and laying there for nearly 50 years before thawing in the melting snows. The Anthrax spores remained live and resulted in fresh outbreak with 2,300 reindeer dying and 100 people being hospitalised, including a 12-year-old child who died.

Cases of anthrax infection are now mercifully rare however the danger remains real, especially in former woollen mills and animal production sites. In addition, construction workers carrying out demolition or renovation of buildings dating back 100 years could also be at risk from horsehair plaster, a compound which used hair from various animals for strength.

Legislation requires any companies carrying out work in areas where anthrax could be present to follow the standard assess, review and control model.

The Health and Safety Executive outlines this online, advising that as well as buildings that may contain old plaster, old burial sites with anthrax-infected carcasses or old tanneries could pose possible contaminations, as could crypt clearances involving the opening of coffins containing people who have died of anthrax.

Eton Environmental offers a specialist anthrax sampling service to ensure health and safety compliance. For further details contact us on 01325 366886 or email info@etongroup.co.uk