Anthrax does not pass from one animal to another!

The spore stage of anthrax is responsible for its survival in many environments for many years. In most cases, animal contamination occurs from eating or drinking water that contains spores of the bacterium.

Spores ingested by herbivores germinate within the host to produce the vegetative forms; these multiply and express their virulence factors, killing the host. The vegetative form is square-ended and capsulated. Sporulating cells carry elliptic, centrally located spores. Bacilli shed by the dying or dead animal will sporulate on contact with air. Sporulation requires the presence of free oxygen, and the efficiency of the process is influenced by the environmental conditions. The proportion of cells that reach the ultimate stage, a dormant spore, is variable.

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SEM Images of Vegetative and Spore Stages(Website 37):

Description: Scanning electron micrograph of Bacillus anthracis spore and vegetative stages. B. anthracis is a Gram-positive, encapsulated, spore-forming, zoonotic, rod prokaryote. Magnification: x700.

The disease does not spread from animal to animal.

In agricultural areas, it is customary to vaccinate farm animals annually. An anti-anthrax vaccine has existed for animals since the 1930s. The vaccine compound given to cows contains weakened live spores. The spore buds in the animal’s body and is capable of producing the three toxins, but not the bacterial envelope. This prevents the phagocytotic process, which prevents the bacteria from proliferating. Thus, the toxins produced by the bacteria are not present in amounts capable of causing the disease.

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About the history of developing vaccines for farm animals against anthrax

8    Wanted, an Anthrax vaccine: Dead or Alive?

8    Epidimiologic Response to Anthrax Outbreaks

Anthrax in animals is hyperendemic or endemic in the following areas of the world: most areas of the Middle East, most areas of equatorial Africa, Mexico, Central Africa, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, certain Southeast Asian countries (e.g. Burma (Myanmar), Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand), Papua New Guinea, China, and some Mediterranean countries. In most of the rest of the world, anthrax occurs only sporadically. In the United States, outbreaks in animals have occurred since 1990 in the Midwest (Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri); in the West (California, Nevada), and in Texas and Oklahoma. In the US, the microorganism remains endemic in the soils of Texas, Oklahoma, and the lower Mississippi valley.

8    World anthrax data site