Cutaneous anthrax

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Cutaneous anthrax

Cutaneous Anthrax

Skin layers

Anthrax - skin

Cutaneous anthrax is treated with antibiotics, most often doxycycline or ciprofloxacin. Ciprofloxacin has been the antibiotic of choice during a suspected anthrax outbreak.

Because anthrax spores may take up to 60 days to grow, the length of treatment is usually 60 days.

The outlook is excellent when anthrax is treated. Death is extremely rare when antibiotics are promptly given.

In some cases, the infection can spread through the bloodstream, leading to shock and death.

Call your health care provider if you know you have been exposed to anthrax, or if you develop a skin lesion as described above.

Review Date: 05/30/2009
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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