Wescolite (Dillon, Mont) 1949-2009, November 01, 2001, Image 1

November 1,2001 Volume 52 Issue 3 W E S C O L I T E A Publication of University of Montana-Western, 710 S. Atlantic, Dillon, MT 59725 ANTHRAX? By Krista Harrington In the wake of the September 11th attacks on New York City certain unknown individuals have begun to threaten citizens in various parts of the nation by using a deadly biological disease called Anthrax. The media has gone to great lengths to convey that this disease has terrible affects the human body, but many of the concrete facts have not been made overly visible. What exactly is Anthrax? According toAmot Ogden Medical Center Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by a spore-forming bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. This disease occurs most commonly in warm-blooded animals, includ­ ing humans. The spores can be produced in a dry form (for biological warfare) which can be stored and ground into particles. If these particles are inhaled by a human they can cause respiratory failure and death within a week. How is Anthrax transmitted? Infection of this disease can result in three different ways: cutaneous (skin), inhalation, and gastrointes­ tinal. The Bacillus anthracis spores can live in the soil for many years and therefore can infect humans with anthrax if they handle infected animal products or eat undercooked infected meat. It is very rare to find infected animals in the United States. What are the Symptoms of Anthrax? Symptoms vary depending on how the disease was contracted, but they usually begin to occur within seven days of infection. W e s t e r n ’ s F r e s h m a n H o n o r s P r o g r a m By Joe Regan Western offers an honors English program; in the program are several different topic classes. Dr. C Mark Adderley teaches one of which. His honors class reads and studies the literature written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Throughout the course of this class students read several of his works and discuss them in class. There is the occasional paper or speech to be given, but generally it is a reading and discussion class. Things that are talked about include who all the characters are, what they do and why. Tolkien himself is often discussed. Things like; what events in his life affects they way he writes? Why did he write this? What was going on in his mind? , Etc. I would recommend this class if you like to read and/or you are a Tolkien fan. This class is usually a relaxed class full of people that enjoy what is going on in class. I find this class to be very entertain­ ing and I look forward to going to it every time. It isn’t the easiest class in the world, but with a little effort, well worth your while. Another asset of this class is the class size. There are less than fifteen in this class. To enroll in any honors program, it is required to write a paper. If you are accepted, get ready for a great class. The class is taught for one semester, three days a week for fifty minutes. That means that most of the work done is done on the student’s time. During the semester, the students will be reading or re­ reading The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of The Rings trilogy. That is a lot of reading, but once you start to understand these works, they are captivating. Skin infection begins as raised itchy bump that resembles and insect bite but within 1-2 days develops a vesicle and then a painless ulcer. About 20% of untreated cases of cutaneous anthrax will result in death. In the case of inhalation initial symptoms may resemble a com­ mon cold.After several days, the symptoms may progress to severe breathing problems and shock. This type of anthrax usually results in death in 1-2 days after onset of the acute symptoms. Intestinal anthrax may follow the consumption of contaminated meat and is characterized by an acute inflammation of the intesti­ nal tract. Initial signs of nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, and fever are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe diarrhea. Intestinal anthrax results in death in 25% - 60% of cases. One seemingly good characteristic about this disease is the fact that there are no reports of it spreading from person to person. It is highly likely that direct person to person spread of anthrax does not occur. One more reassuring note is the fact that there is also an anthrax vaccine that is available to per­ sons in high-risk occupations, working in a post office for ex­ ample. BioPort Corporation is the sole manufacturer of this vaccine, a vaccine that is US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - licensed and has been routinely given in the United States since 1970. The U niversity o f Montana W e s t e r n