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White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, anthrax epizootics have been frequently documented in Texas over the last two decades. Once outbreaks begin, there is evidence for the potential role of hematophagous flies as vectors for the disease. Hypotheses on the role of biting flies in the transmission of anthrax date back more than a century. Both laboratory experiments and field studies have provided evidence of a biting fly transmission pathway. In particular, several studies have implicated biting flies during severe wildlife outbreaks in North America. Despite these implications, there is a lack of spatial analysis relating flies and anthrax. Here we report on the spatial patterns of anthrax in white-tailed deer on a well-studied ranch with a documented anthrax history. These patterns were evaluated against the spatiotemporal patterns of biting flies during the anthrax risk period. Unbaited fly traps were used to collect flies across the study ranch from June through August 2005. Kernel density analysis confirmed biting fly hotspots concentrated in the areas with highest densities of deer carcasses. The average nearest neighbor index confirmed that deer carcasses were spatially clustered and density estimates suggest that these are in proximity to areas supporting high fly populations. Dual kernel density analysis of carcasses and deer population identified a large dry riverine habitat as a high anthrax risk. Fly catch rates across the period identified a similar pattern to the anthrax risk surface. The high overlap between areas of sustained high fly catch rates and anthrax cases does suggest a relationship warranting future research.

Robert Koch, médico alemán, es señalado como uno de los pioneros de la microbiología y de la bacteriología médica. Durante el apogeo del ántrax y de la tuberculosis en el Viejo Mundo en el siglo XIX, desarrolló la teoría microbiana de la enfermedad que planteaba que las enfermedades infecciosas son de origen microbiano y, de paso, elaboró un revolucionario protocolo experimental -los postulados de Koch- con el fin de establecer cuándo un microbio putativo es la condición necesaria y suficiente para ocasionar una patología cualquiera. Esta reseña pretendió revelar las raíces de dicha teoría que se remontan a la Edad Media, su esencia, su lucha con otras doctrinas, las numerosas y genuinas experimentaciones que se anticiparon a dicha teoría y su relación con el desarrollo de la fitopatología. Se analizaron las limitaciones de la versión original y algunas de las enmiendas propuestas desde la década del treinta hasta la era de las herramientas moleculares, y se dedujo finalmente que los postulados de Koch han superado la prueba del tiempo, gracias a su consistencia, su estabilidad, su coherencia conceptual y el uso del razonamiento lógico.

The vaccine used to protect humans against the anthrax disease, called Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA), was licensed in 1970. It was initially used to protect people who might be exposed to anthrax where they worked, such as veterinarians and textile plant workers who process animal hair. When the U. S. military began to administer the vaccine, then extended a plan for the mandatory vaccination of all U. S. service members, some raised concerns about the safety and efficacy of AVA and the manufacture of the vaccine. In response to these and other concerns, Congress directed the Department of Defense to support an independent examination of AVA. The Anthrax Vaccine: Is It Safe? Does It Work? reports the study's conclusion that the vaccine is acceptably safe and effective in protecting humans against anthrax. The book also includes a description of advances needed in main areas: improving the way the vaccine is now used, expanding surveillance efforts to detect side effects from its use, and developing a better vaccine.