horn danger?

[2172]

Awakened around 2AM, and while trying to get back to sleep, had a disturbing thought. The papers are full of a story of some guy in New York City who has contracted Anthrax, and is in bad shape. He apparently brought some raw skins back from a trip to Africa, with the idea of making drum head of them. My thought: I have used some raw South African horns the big ones on a couple of projects...could something like this carry anthrax?
Should we be concerned? Hank

 

[MSW]

my wife, who has a good deal of subject matter knowledge in such matters, says that the chances are good that you're wasting a good worry.

still, are the any micro biologists out there with experience in weaponized bio agents dumb enough to 'fess up in such a public forum?

where does the CDC stand?

me, i'd go with the horn, but i'm a self acknowledged dumb-@#$ anyway.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Get a politician to "lick" the horn.....then keep track of his activities.......IF he goes to the General Hospital trash the horn. Simple!
Old Ford

 

[crockett]

I don't know anything about this issue but somewhere in my memory I thought anthrax was some sort of common cattle illness.

 

[mediclimber]

Don't know, but I like Old Ford's idea.

 

[oomcurt]

Just my two cents...I think it is a bunch of hooey. Not that the guy didn't get infected with Anthrax...but that it came from the skins. Think about it... How many other people handled those skins...the guy he bought them from...the other people that handled them before he bought them. And so forth. I have no idea how he got them back in the states...but while "packaging" them...who else was around? Sorry..I don't buy it.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I googled Antrax to read more about it. Try it. You will be nicely informed. Antrax is a bacteriological disease, spread by minute spores. It requires certain moiture, temperature, and a limited temperature range to stay alive. It can not be acquired by simply working on or handling a horn imported from another country. If you wash the horn off with water and dry it in the sun before working on it, whatever might have been on it will have been washed away. You can use " anti bacterial " soap, if you really want to be safe, but any soap will kill it. Anthrax can be acquired through the skin by handling infected cattle, by ingesting infected meat that has not been fully cooked, and by inhalation of spores. Again, you have to be working around infected cattle to get the spores. The most common means of transmission is by ingesting infected meat. Anthrax cannot be passed from one human to another. I assume you are not buying these horns to test your teeth, or to try an exotic diet supplement. Don't Eat The Horn! For most of us, that is intuitive. I am going to assume that the horn that you buy is separated from the cattle that grew it, so you don't have to worry about being around, or handling infected cattle flesh, and meat. :hmm:

 

[pasmokepole]

A non-muzzleloading greenhorn friend of mine came to my garage for some beers after work. After seeing all my antlers, skulls, and skins he said it looked like I was in the Anthrax production business. Just a bit of flatlander humor.

 

[bioprof]

Anthrax spores are not so easy to kill. They are actually endospores, which can survive in soil for more than 10 years. Some endospores can survive in boiling water for 20 hours. Soap may wash them off, but won't kill them.

True horns are made up mainly of keratin, a protein. Since they aren't made of living cells, the chances of them containing anthrax would be very remote.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I was not worried about what the horn is made of but with what might be left on it from the packing plant, in the way of blood, grease, soot, and dirt. I doubt that the salt air of the oceans would be very friendly to bacteria, and that the freezing temperatures at high altitude that air cargo might be subject to would help such bacteria survive, either. The chance of getting an anthrax spore from an African sourced horn has to be very low, if not non-existent.

 

[Black Hand]

The whole concept of the bacterial spore is survival. The spores are constructed in such a way to make them resistant to temperature changes and environmental substances. The salt would probably have no effect on the spores and the cold temperature will only help preseve them. Some spores (from bacteria) are also resistant to radiation. The same could also apply for bacteria, it just depends on the type. If you are concerned about bacteria (not so much the spores), a soak in bleach water should do the trick to kill them.

 

[2172]

Thanks to all..I liked the comment, "my wife thinks you're wasting a perfectly good worry..."
The chap in the story makes his own drums and is identified as a dancer...the paper says he got ill during a performance...the story goes on to say that the various govt bodies are searching his Greenwich Village loft to see if there are any spores there, and some are searching to see if he was in the anthrax-extracting business for terrorism....For a while, I was buying October Country rough horns, which do come from South Africa...hence my question...currently, I've found a pretty good source for white polished horns that are domestic...Hank

 

[musketman]

I have used some raw South African horns the big ones on a couple of projects...could something like this carry anthrax?
Should we be concerned? Hank

I suspect that if it did, you would have contracted the disease by now...

How is anthrax transmitted?

Anthrax infection can occur in three forms: cutaneous (skin), inhalation, and gastrointestinal. B. anthracis spores can live in the soil for many years, and humans can become infected with anthrax by handling products from infected animals or by inhaling anthrax spores from contaminated animal products. Anthrax can also be spread by eating undercooked meat from infected animals. It is rare to find infected animals in the United States.

What are the symptoms of anthrax?

Symptoms of disease vary depending on how the disease was contracted, but symptoms usually occur within 7 days.

Cutaneous: Most (about 95%) anthrax infections occur when the bacterium enters a cut or abrasion on the skin, such as when handling contaminated wool, hides, leather or hair products (especially goat hair) of infected animals. Skin infection begins as a raised itchy bump that resembles an insect bite but within 1-2 days develops into a vesicle and then a painless ulcer, usually 1-3 cm in diameter, with a characteristic black necrotic (dying) area in the center. Lymph glands in the adjacent area may swell. About 20% of untreated cases of cutaneous anthrax will result in death. Deaths are rare with appropriate antimicrobial therapy.

inhalation: Initial symptoms may resemble a common cold. After several days, the symptoms may progress to severe breathing problems and shock. inhalation anthrax is usually fatal.

Intestinal: The intestinal disease form of anthrax may follow the consumption of contaminated meat and is characterized by an acute inflammation of the intestinal tract. Initial signs of nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, fever are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe diarrhea. Intestinal anthrax results in death in 25% to 60% of cases.

 

[mikee51848]

Isn't anthrax pretty common in our soils?