Q. Can a person get screened or tested for anthrax?
A. There is no screening test for anthrax; there is no test that a doctor can do for you that says you've been exposed to or carry it. The only way that it can be determined is through a public health investigation. And in those circumstances, for example, when people who work in a given office or on a given floor have been exposed, public health officials make great and aggressive efforts to inform them whether they have been exposed or not, and thus their need for antibiotics. But, the tests that you read about or hear about such as blood tests or nasal swabs or other tests, are not tests to determine whether an individual should be treated. These nasal swabs and environmental tests are merely to determine the extent of exposure in a given building or workplace.
Q. Should I be vaccinated against anthrax?
A. No. Routine vaccination against anthrax is not recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The existing national stockpile of anthrax vaccine is limited, and will be directed for use in the event of an acute need.
Currently, and for the last several years, anthrax vaccination has been recommended only for the following people, who are more likely than most of us to be exposed to anthrax:
Persons who work directly with the organism in the laboratory.
Persons who handle potentially infected animal products.
Certain military personnel deployed to areas of the world with high risk for exposure to the organism.
Q. What can the average person do to protect himself/herself from anthrax?
A. The best approach to take in dealing with anthrax, is to know a little bit more about anthrax.
It's not contagious, it doesn't spread from person-to-person.
It's a disease that once exposed to is treatable and we have a number of different antibiotics that can be used to treat it.
Those antibiotics are very effective in preventing a person from ever getting the disease once exposed.
If someone does develop cutaneous (skin) anthrax, for example, it's readily treatable.
Q. What are the symptoms of anthrax?
A. There are three clinical presentations of anthrax, largely determined by the route of entry of the anthrax into the human body and some of the clinical manifestations. The symptoms are: cutaneous anthrax, where your skin surface is exposed and you develop a skin lesion; inhalation anthrax in which you breathe in the particles; and, gastrointestinal anthrax in which you ingest the particles or eat the particles.
Cutaneous anthrax looks like a brown recluse spider bite. In some cases it begins like a swelling on the skin. It can be anywhere, but often on the arms or hands. The swelling then develops a central area of ulceration or a depression. Then, a scab or what we call an eschar, a very dark, blackish-brown scab, forms over that central area. It can be painless and it may or may not be accompanied by a fever.
Q. Is anthrax contagious?
A. Anthrax cannot be spread from person-to-person. One person is not contagious to another person. We can only get it from the mechanisms of exposure to the skin, breathing it or eating it.
Q. What should an individual do about suspicious mail?
A. If you find something suspicious in your mail - be it a package or a letter - remain calm. If you' ve picked it up, put it down. If you have a plastic bag or envelope handy just slip it in it and close it. If you don't have such a plastic item available, cover it with a towel, a cloth or even a newspaper - just cover it so that it is protected over its borders. Wash your hands with soap and water. Call local law enforcement (911) and describe what you've got and ask them come and help you.
Q. What does anthrax look like?
A. All the material that has tested positive so far has been a brownish, grainy substance. Experts say this means it is likely a crude preparation. A more sophisticated lab could put it into a very fine white powder.
Q. What are the different kinds of anthrax disease?
A. More than 95 percent of cases are cutaneous or skin infection. If bacterial spores get into the lungs, they can cause the much rarer but much more deadly inhalation disease.
Q. What are the symptoms of skin exposure to anthrax?
A. It begins with a swollen area on the skin - similar to a large insect bite. It swells more over several days and eventually a black scab forms in the center. Patients often have fever and a headache.
Q. How do I know to suspect anthrax?
A. There is very little reason to suspect you've been exposed unless there has been a specific incident where you live or work. That is why the public health system has to be on alert for a possible attack.
Q. How close to anthrax spores do I have to be to become infected?
A. Anthrax has to be inhaled in the lungs or pass through a cut in the skin to cause disease - simply touching them will not make you sick.
Q. How long is the time from exposure to infection?
A. Anthrax symptoms usually appear in one to six days.
Q. Can I get anthrax from eating or drinking?
A. Only very rarely. Only when people eat meat from anthrax-infected animals. Otherwise it is not a threat in water or food.
Q. If I somehow contract anthrax can it be treated?
A. Yes, if anthrax is treated in the first few days for the inhalation form - or the first weeks for the skin form - it is almost always curable.
Q. What are the treatments?
A. We've heard a lot about the antibiotic Cipro as the first-line drug. However, it's important to reiterate that many common antibiotics including doxycycline and penicillin/amoxicillin are equally effective against anthrax and may be the better drug to protect against resistant organisms.
Revised May 7, 2008
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