Anthrax is a severe infectious illness triggered by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. This bacterium is naturally found in soil and mainly impacts domestic and wild animals. Human anthrax infection occurs primarily through close occupational contact with infected livestock. Anthrax has been reported each year in China for decades since it became a reportable disease. However, concerns about anthrax are growing in recent years. In this paper, we reviewed the literature on Anthrax and Bacillus anthracis. We delineated the epidemiological traits of human anthrax in China as well as the potential risk factors for outbreaks. Additionally, we offer recommendations for prevention and control. We emphasize that effective management of anthrax in humans largely depends on the successful control of the disease in animals. It is also suggested that anthrax is unlikely to completely disappear or escalate into a large-scale epidemic in China in the near future. Human cases of anthrax are expected to remain at a low prevalence, which alleviates the need for excessive panic. Instead, proactive measures should be implemented to enhance the prevention and control of anthrax, ultimately leading to further improvements in public health.

Microfluidic chip and giant magnetoimpedance (GMI)-related technology has developed quickly over the past decades in the field of biological detection. In this work, we designed and fabricated a GMI-based microfluidic system for screening of multiplex gastric cancer biomarkers. The microfluidic chip and GMI sensor were prepared by micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. This system can analyse 8 gastric cancer protein biomarkers simultaneously in less than 25 mins and offer more stable detection signal than conventional enzymological or fluorescent methods. The microfluidic chip was then tested in 150 clinical specimens and compared with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The results indicated no significant difference and excellent agreement. In short, the prototype of GMI-based microfluidic system has been developed successfully and showed promising potentials for parallel screening of cancer biomarkers.