Bioterrorism Stock Photos – Magnified 956X, this Gram-stained photomicrograph depicted numbers of the Gram-positive Clostridium tertium bacteria, which had been cultivated on a blood agar plate (BAP), over a time period of 48 hours.
C. tertium is a non-exotoxin producing bacterium, therefore, was long considered to be relatively nonpathogenic to humans. However, cases are being increasingly reported that link C. tertium to human illnesses including bacteremia, meningitis, septic arthritis, enterocolitis, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, posttraumatic brain abscess, and pneumonia. A number of Clostridium spp. are highly pathogenic to humans. Members including C. perfringens, and C. septicum, are known to be a cause of gas gangrene in humans, due to their production of a potent exotoxin, and C. botulinum is the cause of botulism food poisoning.
Keywords: Bioterrorism diseases, bioterrorism agents, Botulism, Clostridium botulinum, medical stock photos, 12057
