Summaries for patients. Screening for inhalational anthrax after a bioterrorist attack.

A.I. Mushlin, and M.A. Callahan. What is the problem and what is known about it so far? Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by bacteria that can survive for years as spores. It is usually found in animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats. Although human cases are uncommon in the United States, humans can get anthrax by touching, eating, or inhaling spores from infected animal products. Recently, anthrax was deliberately spread to humans when spores were sent through the mail. Inhaling spores leads to serious, often fatal, illness. Initial symptoms may seem like those of a cold, but they quickly progress to severe problems with breathing. Antibiotics are sometimes effective, but early diagnosis and treatment are important because the disease progresses so rapidly. Early identification of inhalational anthrax has been considered difficult because of concern that early symptoms resemble those of other common respiratory tract (mouth and nose or airways and lungs) infections, such as the flu.