Which of the following condition causes 'malignant pustule' of the skin during its pathological process?
High-Yield Explanation
The typical lesion of cutaneous anthrax is a painless ulcer with a black eschar (crust, scab) with local edema. The lesion is called a malignant pustule. Must know: B. anthracis is a large "box car-like" gram-positive rod. Its antiphagocytic capsule is composed of D-glutamate. (This is unique--capsules of other bacteria are polysaccharides.) It is non motile, whereas other members of the genus are motile. Anthrax toxin is encoded on one plasmid, and the polyglutamate capsule is encoded on a different plasmid. Pulmonary anthrax, also known as "woolsoer's disease". Ref: Levinson W. (2012). Chapter 17. Gram-Positive Rods. In W. Levinson (Ed), Review of Medical Microbiology & Immunology, 12e.