Anthrax
The 2001 outbreak of anthrax in the USA, as a result of bio-terrorism, raised the profile of this disease. Anthrax is not a contagious disease and travellers are rarely at risk under normal circumstances. Anthrax is a bacterial disease that mainly affects cattle and other domestic animals. Humans can become infected by direct contact with infected animals, or, as in bio-terrorism, by inhalation of airborne spores, as well as through broken skin. Spores are the inactive form of bacteria which become active when environmental conditions are appropriate for reproduction.