Forms of anthrax disease

Traditionally anthrax is classified in two ways:

• route by which the disease was contracted
  • cutaneous - acquired through a skin lesion
  • pulmonary - after ingestion of contaminated food, primarily meat from an animal that died of the disease
  • gastrointestinal - from breathing in airborne anthrax spores
  • injection anthrax
• exposure through occupation
  • non-industrial anthrax
    • occurs in farmers, butchers, knackers/renderers, veterinarians, etc
    • usually manifests itself as the cutaneous form
    • tends to be seasonal and parallels the seasonal incidence in the animals from which it is contracted
  • industrial anthrax
    • seen in those employed in the processing of bones, hides, wool and other animal products
    • mainly presents as the inhalational form due to spore-laden dust exposure (1)

Reference:

• (1) World Health Organization (WHO) 2008. Anthrax in humans and animals (fourth edition)
• (2) Health Protection Agency (HPA) 2010. Anthrax: Guidelines for action in the event of a deliberate release