anthrax
An acute infectious disease of herbivores, especially sheep and cattle, caused by Bacillus anthracis.
Other meanings
The human disease that can occur in humans through contact with infected herbivores, tissue from infected animals, or high concentrations of anthrax spores, but is not usually spread between humans, with symptoms including lesions on the skin or in the lungs, often fatal.
Synonyms
- malignant edema
Word history
From Ancient Greek "ἄνθραξ" (abscess, boil).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “anthrax” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.