Ever wonder why vintage shaving brushes are often marked "Sterilized"? I found an article from an American public health medical journal circa 1925 which was pretty chilling. An excerpt is below, and here is the link to the full article, which goes into US military cases of shaving brush induced anthrax during WW1:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...0032-0054a.pdf

440 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
ANTHRAX FROM SHAVING BRUSHES
THE DANGER from shaving brushes infected with anthrax spores has once
more been painfully called to our attention by the sad death of Professor
Ellermann of the University of Copenhagen. On December 17, 1924, a small
spot appeared on his left cheek. It was soon followed by considerable edema,
but without marked general symptoms. An examination of his shaving brush
showed that it was dyed Chinese horsehair, made to imitate badger, and from
the hair anthrax was isolated. The diagnosis was clear, and in spite of the
injection of anthrax serum, Professor Ellermann died on December 24.