Showing papers on "Bacillus anthracis published in 1981"
TL;DR: The results of the first full survey of the extent of the contaminated area and the numbers of viable spores of B. anthracis present are reported, carried out in 1979, which shows that areas around the gantry remain contaminated to a detectable level but a much wider surrounding zone of undetectable contamination, possibly containing localized high concentrations of spores, could also constitute a hazard.
Abstract: During the Second World War, trials of Bacillus anthracis as a potential agent of biological warfare (BW) were carried out on Gruinard Island off the west coast of Scotland (57°56′N, 5°35′W). Small bombs containing a slurry of spores of B. anthracis were detonated: most were suspended, about 6 feet above ground, from a gantry but one was dropped from an aircraft. The resulting aerosol clouds of spores were observed to pass through lines of sheep tethered at various distances down-wind of the detonation site and after a few days several sheep died of anthrax. The lethal nature of BW weapons used in the open had, therefore, been shown; the unfortunate legacy was an island heavily contaminated with the persistent spores of a virulent microorganism. Soil samples were tested annually from 1948 to 1968 and again in 1972 by Ministry of Defence staff and were found to contain viable spores of B. anthracis (unpublished work), although accurate counts were not made. We report here the results of the first full survey of the extent of the contaminated area and the numbers of viable spores of B. anthracis present. The survey, carried out in 1979, shows that areas around the gantry remain contaminated to a detectable level but a much wider surrounding zone of undetectable contamination, possibly containing localized high concentrations of spores, could also constitute a hazard.
100 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that the confirmation of the filamentous appendages on the surface of spore exosporia may be a useful test for the differentiation of B. cereus and B. anthracis.
Abstract: There have been few reports concerning the existence of appendages on the exosporium of bacterial spores (1,3-5). Based on this fact, Hachisuka et al (3) suggested the possibility of differentiation between Bacillus cereus and other Bacillus species since spores of all strains of B. cereus examined by them had fine filamentous appendages on the surface of the exosporium. In this paper, it is reported that the spores of all strains of B. cereus which were collected from several institutes in Japan and other places have filamentous appendages but the spores of all collected strains of Bacillus anthracis do not, and it is suggested that the confirmation of the filamentous appendages on the surface of spore exosporia may be a useful test for the differentiation of B. cereus and B. anthracis. Eleven strains of B. cereus and fourteen strains of B. anthracis were examined. Strains lAM 1029, 1072, 1110, 1656, 1729, and No.2 of B. cereus were obtained from the Institute of Applied Microbiology, The University of Tokyo. Strains IFO 3001, 3131, and 3457 of B. cereus were obtained from the Institute for Fermentation. Strain Nagoya City H.R.I. of B. cereus was obtained from the Health Research Institute of Nagoya City. The T strain of B. cereus was obtained from the Department of Microbiology, Michigan State University. Strains IID 501-505 of B. anthracis were obtained from the Institute of Medical Science, The University ofTokyo. Strains Akashi, Nishinomiya, Sumoto and Mihara of B. anthracis were obtained from the Health Institute of Hyogo. Strains NIAH 1013-1015 and Vollum of B. anthracis were obtained from the National Institute of Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Strain Nishine of B. anthracis was obtained from the Iwate Medical College. Each strain was inoculated on a slant of beef-extracted agar (Eiken Co., Ltd.) and cultivated for 3 days for B. cereus or for 5 days for B. anthracis at 37 C to produce spores. Spores were suspended in distilled water and washed several times with distilled water by centrifugation (at 3,000 rpm for 15 min). Spore specimens placed on grids coated with Formvar-carbon film were shadowed with Pt-palladium and examined with a Hitachi HU-12 electron microscope at an accelerating voltage of 75 kV.
18 citations
TL;DR: SUMMARY Samples of sewage, sewage sludge and sewage effluent from one or more of four sewage treatment plants were examined for the presence of Leptospira, Mycobacterium, Escherichia coli, Brucella abortus and Bacillus anthracis.
Abstract: Samples of sewage, sewage sludge and sewage effluent from one or more of four sewage treatment plants were examined for the presence of Leptospira, Mycobacterium, Escherichia coli, Brucella abortus and Bacillus anthracis. Brucella abortus and Bacillus anthracis were not isolated. Eleven strains of E. coli potentially enteropathogenic for calves or piglets, eight pathogenic strains of Mycobacterium and one patho;genic Leptospira strain were isolated from 101, 189 and 189 samples respectively. Sewage sludge is no;t considered to play a major part in the epidemiology of disease caused by these organisms.
9 citations
TL;DR: Two vaccine strains of Bacillus anthracis were monitored in a 10-liter fermentor to compare growth patterns and toxin production, and the Sterne strain produced all three components of anthrax toxin, whereas strain V770 produced only the protective antigen.
Abstract: Two vaccine strains of Bacillus anthracis were monitored in a 10-liter fermentor to compare growth patterns and toxin production. Under identical conditions, the Sterne strain produced all three components of anthrax toxin, whereas strain V770 produced only the protective antigen.
8 citations