Thread: Anthrax from Shaving Brushes: 1925 Article

Originally Posted by Alethephant

A couple of final points:

1. The article says "An examination of his shaving brush
showed that it was dyed Chinese horsehair, made to imitate badger, and from
the hair anthrax was isolated". So beware of badger hair razors from China, not horsehair ones from elsewhere?

2. It seems suspicious to me that the only case reported anywhere of anthrax from shaving brushes or strops should be in a famous microbiologist. He had the capability of doing this to himself on purpose. I suppose it's possible that this is why the case was published, not why it occurred. But, still, considering the tiny fraction of the population in the 1920's that were microbiologist, my epidemiologist ears are twitching.

To add another possibility to this train of thought/potential root cause, what's to say he didn't get the spores on himself in his work with some of them getting transferred TO the brush when he used it...

Originally Posted by Malacoda

To add another possibility to this train of thought/potential root cause, what's to say he didn't get the spores on himself in his work with some of them getting transferred TO the brush when he used it...

That is certainly a possibility! More than one pioneer researcher in biology has met their doom via infection with the very bug they were studying! eg. Ebola virus, streptococcus, and an entire Russian town and research station (weaponized anthrax).