The Center for Unhindered Living




Why the Anthrax Bacteria is No More
Dangerous to You Than Any Other Germ

It was the assertion of Beauchamp and Enderlein in the 1800's that there are microorganisms which live permanently in our bodies, and which are necessary for our health and well-being.  To quote from "Notes on Microbial Infection for Medical Physicists" by Dr. John Heritage, Division of Microbiology, School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, a report prepared in March 2001:

"We are only 10% human.  It has been estimated that there are about 10 to the 14th power cells in the human body.  Of these only 10% are of human origin.  The remainder are the microbes that comprise our commensal flora.  These are the microbes that live in and on our various body surfaces.  We provide the microorganisms with food and shelter.  In return, the commensal flora can play an important role in preventing infection....Most of the microbes that live on or in humans do no harm.  Indeed, they may be positiely beneficial.....A very small minority of microbes are primary pathogens.  These are capable of infecting individuals and causing disease.  Because infections are very common and may be life-threatening, it is easy to get the wrong perspective on microbes.  Without microbes, life on Earth would not exist.  They are responsible, for example, for nutrient cycling.  Certain bacteria, for example, are the only organisms that can fix atmospheric nitrogen and make it available for other life forms, all of which depend upon a steady supply of fixed nitrogen to survive."

So the message of this statement is "Microbes are necessary to life, and in most cases are our friends."

Dr. Heritage goes on to say of Viruses, "It is debatable whether viruses are truly living organisms.  They entirely rely upon other cells for their replication.  Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites:  an obligate intracellular parasite requires to live within a cell in its host" (1).  This would go right along with the idea of pleomorphism, that endobionts live within human cells and are part of the cell, and their survival or mutation depends upon the cellular environment.

Only a small minority of bacteria causes disease.  Bacteria are fairly simple structurally.  They lack a membrane-bound nucleus.  There are three basic structures to bacteria:  They are either round, rod shaped or spiral.  Round bacteria are referred to as cocci, rod shaped bacteria as bacilli.  Bacteria are further categorized depending on their ability to retain a crystal violet-iodine dye.  This reaction is referred to as the Gram reaction, named after Christian Gram, who developed the staining procedure in 1884.  Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria have fundamentally different structures, related to the composition of the cell wall and other things.

A few species of bacteria have the ability to produce highly resistant structure known as endospores.  These spores resist a range of hazardous environments, and protect against heat, radiation and desiccation.  Botulism, gas gangrene, tetanus and anthrax are all sporing bacteria.  Botulism, gas gangrene, and tetanus are all ANAEROBIC, meaning they don't need oxygen.  However, anthrax is FACULTATIVELY ANAEROBIC, meaning it can live with or without oxygen.  According to the Merck Manual, "Bacillus anthracis, is a large, Gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic, encapsulated rod. The spores resist destruction by disinfectants and heat and remain viable in soil and animal products for decades" (2).   Even though anthrax CAN live without oxygen, it DOES proliferate when exposed to oxygen.  That is why they can live in soil and animal remains for years, but when the soil is disturbed or animal carcases opened, it often spreads.  So any method of curtailing anthrax should center first around depriving it of oxygen.

The mainstream medical world still believes, however, that bacteria infect us from outside, replicate, and exit from the host in search of a new victim.  This is called the cycle of infection.  However, if we are to follow Beauchamp's and Enderlein's research on  pleomorphism, we would have to say that anthrax, or any other bacteria, virus or fungus, mutate from microorganisms that already live in the body.  Why then, do these microbes suddenly choose to mutate in such a way that it seems the victim was infected from outside?

Perhaps it is because the human host is exposed to a catalyst which radically alters the pH of the body, thereby allowing quick mutation and proliferation of the seeming infectious agent.  According to the Center for Disease Control, if 100 people are exposed to an infectious agent,  90 will become infected and 10 will not.  Why don't those 10 become infected?  Because the condition of their bodies, even after being exposed to the pH catalyst, did not provide an environment of acidic enough pH to allow the microbes to mutate.  Also, presumably, different catalysts specifically effect different microbes in different ways, creating different mutations.  So there are many different kinds of "pathogenic organisms" which mutate from the microorganisms in our bodies based upon internal conditions.

In addition, it is not the anthrax spores themselves which cause disease, but a toxin which they release that has been called "lethal factor."  Lethal factor is a protease enzyme responsible for clipping proteins in two.  The presence of one or two, or even 500 to 700 spores is not enough to start an infection.  It has been determined that there must be at least 10,000 spores present in order for an infection to begin.  Then these spores release the lethal factor, which is what does the damage.  So, while we should seek to inhibit the growth of anthrax by depriving it of oxygen, we must also think about a way to clear out the toxins the cells are releasing.

Anthrax normally attacks the lungs because it must lodge in vulnerable tissue in order to cause disease.  The trick is, not to allow any of your tissue to remain in a vulnerable condition.

The Merck Manual tells us that "Following entry into the body, the spores germinate inside macrophages, and the bacteria are transported to regional lymph nodes, where they multiply. The bacteria produce a variety of toxins; protective antigen binds to target cells and facilitates cellular entry of edema toxin and lethal toxin. Lethal toxin triggers a massive release of cytokines from macrophages, which is responsible for the sudden death" (3). Macrophages are a type of white blood cell that normally engulf and eat a bacterium.

Once inhaled, the one to two micron-sized spores proceed to the lower respiratory tract.  They are identified for destruction by the macrophages which engulf them.  Normally they would be eaten, but have a protease enzyme which breaks down the signaling proteins.  They are transported to the peribronchial and mediastinal lymph nodes.  Germination occurs in transit, and when they get there, the bacteria spill out of the macrophages, multiply in the lymphatic system, and and spill over into the systemic circulation(4).  Normally, the lymph tissue would collect bacteria before they enter the blood stream, but since they are inside macrophages this does not occur.  They then produce the lethal toxin and an edema toxin, and cytokines which basically cause a huge inflammatory response by the body.

All of this basically occurs because of the toxins that are released, and the inflammatory response that ensues.
However, reducing or eliminating the proliferation of the spores would of course reduce the inflammatory response.

Of course, this all sounds very dangerous.  However, by equipping your body so that these cells do not mutate in the first place, and cannot proliferate once mutated, you will in all likelihood avoid the inflammatory phase of this disease.  Of course, after the cells have mutated and proliferated, you will have to deal with it like any other disease.  However, nature contains everything we need to overcome disease.

Basically, anthrax is no more dangerous than any other germ, because we have the power to alter our body chemistry so that microbes cannot mutate or proliferate.  And while we are altering our body chemistry to that end, we can also ingest some natural antibacterial agents that will kill any microbes that do proliferate before our alterations are complete.  So we are going to practice prevention, interception, and eradication all in one.

The first line of defense against infections of all kinds - The New Silver Solution

References:

(1)  Heritage, John.  (2001).  Notes on Microbial Infection for Medical Physicists. University of Leeds, School of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, p. 1.

(2)  Merck & Company, Inc.  (1995-2001).  Bacterial Diseases Caused by Gram-Positive Bacilli.  The Merck Manual, Available online:  [http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section13/chapter157/157c.htm].

(3) same as in (2) above

(4) Migueles, S.A. & C. U. Tuazon.  (2001).  Anthrax in the New Millenium. Washington, D.C.:  George Washington University Medical Center, pp. 248-249.