Definition of the word anthrax

The word "anthrax" originates from the Greek word "anthrakis," which translates to "coal" or "lignite." This name was coined by a German physician, Johann Jacob Wolff, in the late 1800s when he noticed that mine workers in an area of Germany suffered from a disease that seemed to be related to the coal dust they breathed in. The type of bacteria that causes anthrax, Bacillus anthracis, was later identified by a Scottish surgeon, Joseph Lister, in 1863. Though Lister recognized the bacteria as a potential cause of septicemia, the true link between the bacteria and anthrax was not fully understood until German scientist Robert Koch was able to cultivate the bacteria in his laboratory in the 1870s. Koch's work led to a clear understanding of the disease and its transmission, as well as the eventual development of effective treatments and vaccines. Thus, the name "anthrax," which originally referred to a respiratory disease caused by coal dust, came to represent a more deadly and specific phenomenon—a potentially fatal infection caused by a spore-forming bacterium.