Anthrax is an infectious disease of herbivores caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. People generally become infected through contact with, or ingestion of, Bacillus anthracis spores from infected animals or their products. Anthrax spores are extremely resistant to inactivation by heat or chemicals, ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, and can survive in the environment for decades(Disease & Disease 2007). Studies have shown that even 50 year old vial of anthrax spores can give rise to live bacteria once they are in a host. The incubation period of anthrax is 2 to 60 days. Anthrax can be transmitted through skin contact with tissues from infected animals, inhalation of anthrax spores, eating meat from an animal with anthrax, non-natural exposures such; for example, in the laboratory. There is no evidence of Anthrax being transmitted from one person to another. The symptoms of Anthrax are different according to the way of transmission the person was exposed to. If anthrax was contracted by Skin contact with an animal, a lesion appears after 5-7 days. The lesion typically enlarges, forms a blister, and then becomes a black swollen scab. Deaths from this form of anthrax are very rare. If one consumes contaminated meat, the symptoms might include fever, sore throat, and swelling around the neck, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, sometimes with…show more content… Some of these clones are distributed worldwide, while others are found in limited geographic areas. B. anthracis is a member of the Bacillus cereus group, which also contains Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis. These three organisms are very closely related. Based on genetic analysis, some authors consider them to be a single species; however, this idea is controversial. Plasmids closely related to pX01 and/or pX02 have recently been found in a few Bacillus cereus isolates that caused anthrax-like diseases in people, chimpanzees or