October 9, 2001

DENVER (AP) - Anthrax is an animal disease that rarely spreads to humans and almost never is transmitted from person to person.

Early symptoms from inhalation anthrax, the most rare kind, begin with a cough but rapidly progress into severe breathing problems and shock. They initially can be confused with the flu.

To be effective, antibiotic treatment must begin before symptoms show up - usually within one week, but sometimes as long as two months after exposure.

In Florida, co-workers of a man who died of inhaled anthrax last week are being tested and given antibiotics as a preventative measure. On Monday, officials announced that the germ was found in the nose of one of his co-workers and on a computer keyboard in their office.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified two antibiotics - Cipro and doxycycline - to treat anthrax.

Federal officials were sending Florida 100 cases of antibiotics to back up the local supply. The antibiotics came from the federal stockpile, which holds enough to quickly treat 2 million anthrax cases.

Once established, inhalation anthrax can kill within a few days, despite aggressive treatment.

"You want to treat people before they show symptoms," said Bruce Clements, associate director of St. Louis University's Center for the Study of Bioterrorism and Emerging Infections.

The Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington inflamed fears that terrorists might try to use chemical or biological weapons in an attack. Anthrax is one of the biological agents cited.

Some 143 nations have signed a treaty to ban the use of biological weapons.

Terrorists could try to spread anthrax by spraying it or releasing into a ventilation system, experts say. Anthrax spores are hardy and can persist for weeks indoors. They are resistant to both sunlight and disinfectant.

Only 18 inhalation cases in the United States were documented in the 20th century, the most recent in 1976.

About 95 percent of all cases of anthrax worldwide result from skin contact with infected animals or tissue, and ranchers and animal handlers are sometimes at risk.

Two suspected cases of so-called cutaneous anthrax have been reported in Texas this year, both in ranch workers.

Cutaneous anthrax often begins with a bump on the hands, arms or head that eventually turns into a sore and coal-black lesions. More severe symptoms may follow, including fever, swelling and headache. Untreated, about 20 percent of patients die.

Anthrax can also be caused by eating tainted meat. No cases of digestive anthrax have ever been reported to the CDC.

The worst incident with inhaled anthrax occurred in 1979, when anthrax spores were accidentally released from a former Soviet military laboratory, killing 68 people.