First, the life-threatening spores I bet that over the past month, whether in the office, or after tea, people talk about the most topics must be related to the 9.11 terrorist attacks in the United States and the United States and British coalition airstrikes in Afghanistan. According to the statistics of a well-intentioned person who searched the Internet, the popularity index of the terrorist killer Bin Laden is now higher than that of any other person. Bin Laden’s popularity index is now hotter than that of any celebrity, and the frequency of his name appearing on the Internet and other mass media dominates, overshadowing any previous topics of interest. In the last two weeks, the tide has turned, and a strange and bizarre name for the disease, anthrax, like a new star rising out of nowhere, has suddenly become a hit in all the world’s media, stealing half of bin Laden’s limelight. Our ancestors taught us that the trees are big and the rafters that come out of them rot first. The only superpower in the world today, the United States, is undoubtedly a paradise on earth in the minds of many people, but as Phoenix said, there are big difficulties with this. Terrorists do not believe in evil, you have to make a paradise on earth to turn it upside down, so that it turned into a horrible hell. 9?11 event of the haze has not yet in the sky over New York and the American people’s mind to completely clear, anthrax specter has begun to start in the United States of America’s skies over the clouds and rain, so that the American people are on edge. Up to the time of the author’s writing, the United States has found 30 cases of anthrax fever, there are nearly old people, there are also under the age of infants, terrorists are not spared, which has been infected with this disease and follow the New York World Trade Center 7,000 victims of the soul of the dead to heaven. The cloud of suspicion of terror is once again as thick as smoke in the sky of the United States and other Western countries. On October 3, 63-year-old photo editor Bob Steven, an employee of The Sun, a tabloid newspaper in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida, suddenly fell ill with a strange disease. Stephen suddenly got a strange disease: first a high fever, nausea and vomiting, then skin lesions, ulcers, edema and necrosis, followed by breathing difficulties, two days later, due to complications of sepsis and infectious shock and died. Doctors found spores of Bacillus anthracis on the computer keyboard Bob was using, the culprit in his death. Three days later, Bob’s colleague, 73-year-old Blanco, was also hospitalized with anthrax spores. The spores were also found on Blanco’s computer keyboard. Medical personnel also found similar spores on his nose. Blanco is currently staying at a hospital in Miami under clinical observation and treatment. The third case of infection is also the tabloid’s female data manager, who was also hospitalized on Oct. 9 when she suddenly felt sick and had pain in her lungs. In addition, in the eastern U.S. state of Virginia, a 40-year-old man claimed on Oct. 9 that he was also infected with anthrax. Medical personnel were examining him. Second, what kind of demon So, what kind of demon is anthrax? So what is anthrax all about that has Americans and the world so alarmed? Anthrax, also known as anthrax, is a zoonotic acute infectious disease caused by Bacillus anthracis. Bacillus anthracis is a gram-positive bacillus that easily infects warm-blooded animals, including humans (most bacilli are gram-stain-negative, but not this bacillus, so it’s a different kind of bacillus, which is not a husband, but a hundred times more virulent than a husband). Bacillus anthracis is very small, invisible to the naked eye, not touchable by mortals, about 5-10 microns long and 1-3 microns wide. Don’t look at its small, “human” little kid big, it can according to different living environment and constantly change their faces, change their form. For example, after entering the human body, it can form a membrane to disguise and protect itself, and when the time comes, it will start to make waves. Outside the body, it grows spores (that is, the newspaper said spores), is also a kind of self-protection. The spores are ovoid in shape and are located in the center of the bacterium. Under an electron microscope, three zones of resting-phase spores can be seen. The stationary spores are transformed into pathogenic propagules by three steps: activation, dental protrusion and growth of young shoots. The propagules are sensitive to sunlight, heat and common disinfectants. Similar to other bacteria, heating to 56 ℃ 30 minutes to disappear, 75 ℃ 1 minute can be killed. However, its spores are like armor worn on the body, invulnerable, with strong resistance. In natural conditions or in the cured meat can survive for a long time, in the fur can survive for several years. Dry heat 150 ℃, can still survive 30-60 minutes, wet heat 120 ℃ 40 minutes before all killed. After 100 hours of direct sunlight exposure, boiling for 40 minutes and 110 ℃ high-pressure steam for 60 minutes, there are still a small number of spores survive. It can also resist for a long time in some commonly used disinfectant water. For example, in 5% carbolic acid solution can survive 20-40 days, slightly sensitive to oxidizing agents, 4% potassium permanganate and 3% hydrogen peroxide can be respectively 15 minutes and 1 hour will be “done”. It can be seen that its “resistance” ability is almost the same as that of the Monkey King. No wonder this small anthrax spore can make trouble in the Western world! The heavenly soldiers and generals of the western empire seem to be unable to do anything about it. The main pathogenic component of Bacillus anthracis is its exotoxin. It with be divided into three components: Factor I (edema factor), Factor II (protective antigen) and Factor III (lethal factor), the last of which is life-threatening. Before the 20th century, anthrax was widespread . In the United States, it was earlier called “sheep shearer’s disease”, or simply “wool worker’s disease”, because most of the 18 anthrax patients found in the United States from 1900 to 1978 worked in wool or sheepskin processing. Earlier, some people also called it “black leg disease” based on its main symptom, black skin scabs and necrosis. Third, for the tiger in fact, in the past, this obscure anthrax fever is not as AIDS, now only emerged as a new disease. Today’s Americans are “scared of charcoal”, but it’s just that “the old revolution has encountered a new problem”. I this big vulgar people, always can’t get rid of the country people like to compare with the Chinese characteristics of the old habits, so turned over the old ancestor, found that written in the 17th century, accumulated full of years of dust “Surgery Dacheng” has been on the anthrax (at that time is not called anthrax, but is called furuncle), has described: “is the disease more feeling in the killing of the perverse gas, or the animal evil corpse disobedience of the change! “. Is it the same thing as anthrax today? Experts who have a penchant for proofs can go to the proofs on this, and can declare the subject and make a big book and a big book of papers. The incubation period of anthrax fever is usually 1-6 days, or as short as 12 hours. Its clinical symptoms mainly include skin ulcers, charred scabs and extensive edema of the surrounding tissues, accompanied by signs of toxemia, and in severe cases, acute infection of the lungs, intestines and meninges with sepsis. When a certain number of Bacillus anthracis spores, like a flying scourge, land on the skin rupture, and then are swallowed into the gastrointestinal tract or inhaled into the respiratory tract, coupled with the weakening of the human body’s resistance capacity due to malnutrition, hunger and exertion, chronic diseases, skin fissures, respiratory complications of other diseases, etc., the positive does not suppress the evil, and it can be used for evils. If the body is healthy and the amount of spores entering the body is low or the virulence is low, it will not develop. Anthrax is also a bacterium commonly used in warfare and has killed countless people. Breath-transmitted anthrax was originally spread in herbivores such as sheep, horses, and pigs. Because of its easy dispersal and lethality, Bacillus anthracis has been used by some countries to create biochemical weapons. Research on B. anthracis as a scary biological weapon goes all the way back to the First World War. Germany was said to have used this weapon, but it was never proven. In the Second World War, the United States, Britain and Japan all conducted intensive research on Bacillus anthracis as a biological weapon. Nationals may still remember that there was once a domestic movie about that during the Second World War, Japan’s Unit 731 used to cultivate anthrax germs in large quantities and conduct experiments on the efficacy of germs and bacterial weapons by using live human beings as specimens. 1942, the third expeditionary team of Japan’s Unit 731 took part in the battle of Zhejiang-Gan, and in coordination with the Japanese Army’s Unit 1644, they transported 130 kilograms of anthrax bacillus and other germs by airplane to the predetermined locations, and then carried them to water sources, swamps, and other places where they were used. Then, they released the bacteria into water sources, swampy areas and residential areas, causing the “plague” to break out in these areas one after another, and a large number of Chinese soldiers and civilians died. After Japan’s defeat in the war, Unit 731 spread Bacillus anthracis in central China when it was escaping, causing a large number of people to lose their lives. After World War II, the general mighty army would not use chemical and biological weapons because on the one hand, it was too cruel, and on the other hand, it would easily cause the spread of the plague and injure innocent people. However, there are terrorists and scoundrels like Saddam of Iraq, Aum Shinrikyo of Japan and Osama bin Laden who secretly use chemical and biological weapons, which is a heartless crime. IV. A public case After reading a lot of reports in the past few days, I found that the usual barking coal transmission has made another mistake this time: almost all the reports or comments refer to Bacillus anthracis as a virus or as bacillus virus, which is a bull’s-eye. In fact, Bacillus anthracis is an elongated bacterium, not a virus. Bacteria and viruses are two different microorganisms and should not be confused. There is also a story about anthrax. In France in the mid-nineteenth century, when doctors were still enthusiastic about bloodletting, Pasteur, who was only a chemist, had already realized that the root cause of many diseases was microorganisms. His ideas were universally rejected, and the symposia of the Paris Academy of Sciences often turned into struggles against Pasteur, as if Pasteur were a plague that had to be eliminated before it could be eradicated. Coincidentally, anthrax was spreading in the south of France, and the livestock industry suffered heavy losses. The government was at its wits’ end and had to send Pasteur to investigate and study the disease (which may have been a kind of poison against poison ploy). Unexpectedly, Pasteur discovered that there was a bacillus in the blood of the diseased animals, put forward the concept that anthrax was a bacterial infectious disease, and, what’s more, he developed an anthrax vaccine. One can only imagine how furious his enemies were, and there followed a vociferous campaign of verbal abuse. There was no use arguing, only speaking with facts. Pasteur divided a flock of sheep into two groups, one group was injected with anthrax vaccine beforehand. A few days later, both groups of sheep were injected with anthrax-containing blood at the same time. On this day, the test site was crowded with scientists from the Academy of Sciences and herders from the neighborhood. The scientists were there for the laughs, the herders for the fun. The result, of course, was that the unvaccinated sheep died, the vaccinated ones survived, and Pasteur won the day. In a scientific sense, this experiment is comparable to Galileo’s Leaning Tower of Pisa falling experiment. Only the experimenters ended up differently. Galileo was accused of witchcraft by the Holy See and was imprisoned. History is always unambiguous when it speaks of good and evil. While Galileo and Pasteur were in the minority at the time, there are no people today who don’t side with them. Again, let’s talk about what is at hand – the bombing of the World Trade Center in the United States and now the malicious sowing of anthrax, and the United States is also striking Afghanistan militarily. Bush has said that whoever does not support the United States is a gang of terrorists. Whose side should the Chinese take? So far, the Chinese are still arguing over the difficult question of the distinction between good and evil, with some clamoring for support and others crying out in pain. The onlooker is clear, the authorities are confused, but now the world can no longer distinguish between you and me, where is the onlooker? It seems that the rights and wrongs in the process will have to wait for posterity to comment. It’s just that sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between good and evil, but at least it shouldn’t be difficult to figure out the concepts of bacteria and viruses, or should we wait until the next generation? V. Elephants versus Ants Ben. Although the number of extremist terrorists led by Bin Laden is only a handful, their energy can never be underestimated. Their provocation to civilized society looks like a war between ants and elephants, but because of their extreme and cruel means, what they do still constitutes a serious threat to world peace and innocent lives. It is ironic and funny that the United States and its Western allies, with their strong technological, cultural, economic and military power, allowed the seemingly small terrorists and anthrax to run amok for a while, making the audience, who are not afraid of the height of the stage, fall through their glasses. Today, Osama bin Laden is still at large like Mr. Xue, who killed Feng Yuan, and the terror caused by the anthrax epidemic is also on the rise. It seems that today’s seemingly strong science and technology is still full of holes and weak, far from being strong enough to “do whatever you want” and “destroy whoever you see”. The U.S. can do nothing about bin Laden and bacillus anthrax, just like Princess Iron Fan’s suffering from the Monkey King who drilled into her stomach. It is easy to hide from the open gun, but it is hard to defend against the hidden arrow. The reason why people are so frightened of Bin Laden, his followers and Bacillus anthracis is that you don’t know when and where he or it will come up with something fatal to harm you. Does that mean there is really nothing people can do about anthrax now? The answer is of course no. From the medical point of view, there are still many ways to deal with anthrax. As long as the diagnosis is accurate and the treatment is timely and correct, infected patients can be spared from death. The prognosis for cutaneous anthrax is the best, and the mortality rate has dropped to about 1%. Of course, cutaneous anthrax located in the neck and face, complicated by sepsis and belonging to the malignant edema type, still has a high mortality rate. Pulmonary anthrax, the acute abdominal form of intestinal anthrax, and meningitis-type anthrax can have a mortality rate of 90% or more due to the rapid progression of the disease and the difficulty of making an early diagnosis, as in the case of the first fatality, Bob. Stephen, who died within 2-3 days. Since anthrax is caused by a bacterial infection, treatment is of course based on antimicrobials as the main weapon. Many antimicrobials inhibit or kill B. anthracis, especially penicillin G (preferred), chloramphenicol, aminoglycosides (streptomycin, gentamicin, kanamycin), and quinolones (ciprofloxacin). So, for two weeks, the American public rushed to pharmacies to buy and stock up on antibiotics, creating an oversupply in the antibiotic market. Drug makers saw another opportunity to make a fortune. Bayer, Germany’s largest drug maker, said it would reopen a plant to boost production of the anthrax antibiotic Ciprofloxacin to meet demand in the United States and other countries terrorized by anthrax spores. China imports a lot of expensive antimicrobials from the West every year, and this time the wind and water are turning, and it’s time to take the opportunity to wholesale a little to the West. The use of effective antimicrobials to kill anthrax bacilli is just like cutting off the stems of the grass that grow out of the ground. Those anthrax spores that are “hidden” in the bones of livestock that died of anthrax infection and in the once-contaminated land are the roots of the grass that are deeply embedded in the ground, and when given the opportunity, it will intensify and multiply again. It will multiply again as soon as it has the chance. Because anthrax spores have the Monkey King’s ability to change, as long as there are suitable conditions, it will wake up from “hibernation” and do harm. If a certain place has been contaminated by it, it is extremely difficult to eliminate it within a few years or even decades. From the contaminated land, there will be animals being infected, threatening human beings, and the contaminated area will continue to expand. It is really a case of “wildfire cannot be eliminated, but it grows again in the spring.” There is a report that during the War of Resistance against Japan, a large number of horses were found to be infected with the dreaded anthrax within a month by the National Army, which was fighting in the plains of North China. In order to eliminate the source of infection and protect the uninfected horses, they had to kill their own family members (during the war time, horses were treated by the soldiers as if they were their hands and feet), and painfully quarantined these sick horses and closed them up in an abandoned kiln. At that time, the lack of medicine, did not give effective treatment, the sick horse to martyrdom, one after another to die. The war was over, and time flew, and it was the 1980s. At that time, real estate development has just warmed up, building houses digging foundation found that dozens of war horses martyred kiln. Digging folk a burst of ecstasy, thought it was digging up what a thousand years of treasure. Digging around, but only saw dozens of horses withered bones. The treasure was not unearthed, but the dust raised by the hidden anthrax spores in hibernation infected the workers and caused a small epidemic in the village, resulting in more than a dozen deaths. Similar incidents have occurred overseas. This is reminiscent of the chapter of “Water Margin”, in which “Captain Hong mistakenly walks away from a demon”, which shows how persistent the anthrax spores are! New scientific research has discovered that Bacillus anthracis relies on a protein secreted by itself to direct its pathogenic exotoxin into the cells, thereby causing the infected person to develop the disease. This discovery has been a boon to mankind. Molecular biology techniques are now able to eliminate the gene used to encode this protein in B. anthracis. The eliminated B. anthracis, like a snake with its fangs removed, no longer has the ability to harm people, and can be turned into an advantage and used to make a vaccine. When the vaccine is administered to humans or livestock, it produces antibodies against B. anthracis and gains resistance to anthrax infection. Biologists also hope to use technology to change the structure of this particular protein so that it grows a discerning eye that recognizes tumor cells and directs drugs that are potent against cancer cells specifically into the cancer cells to kill them. In this way, Bacillus anthracis is completely reformed and becomes a “biological missile” for human beings to defeat cancer. Following this path, cancer and AIDS, the incurable diseases of today, may be overcome one by one.