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Anthrax
Alternate Names : Ragpicker's Disease, Wool Sorter's Disease
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Anthrax Treatment
The mainstay of treatment is early antibiotic therapy. Several antibiotics are effective, including penicillin, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin (Cipro). If an outbreak of anthrax is suspected, the antibiotic of choice is ciprofloxacin, until it is known whether the anthrax strain is resistant to any of the other usual antibiotics. Because spores may take up to 60 days to germinate, the length of treatment is usually 60 days.
For inhalation anthrax, people with known or suspected exposure would be given oral antibiotics (pills). If a person develops symptoms of the disease or has a positive test for the disease itself (not just a test for "exposure"), antibiotics would be given intravenously (IV) for 14 days, then orally for the rest of the 60 days.
Cutaneous anthrax is treated with oral antibiotics (pills).
In the event of a bioterrorist attack, the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile is available to supplement and help provide antibiotics should a shortage occur.
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• Definition
• Anthrax Overview, Causes, & Risk Factors
• Anthrax Symptoms & Signs
• Anthrax Prevention
• Anthrax Diagnosis & Tests
• Anthrax Treatment
• Anthrax Prognosis
• Anthrax Complications
• Calling Your Health Care Provider
• Pictures & Images
Topics that might be of interest to you Diseases & Conditions
• Cutaneous Anthrax
• Inhalation Anthrax
• Mediastinitis
• Meningitis
Tests & Exams
• Chest X-Ray
• CSF Collection
• CSF Culture
Other Topics
• Breathing Difficulty
• Cough
• Fever
• Headache
• Malaise
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Shock
• Spores
Review Date : 8/15/2003
Reviewed By : Daniel Levy, M.D., Ph.D., Infectious Diseases, Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Baltimore, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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