Anthrax is a bacterial infection caused by Bacillus anthracis. It primarily affects livestock but can occasionally spread to humans, affecting the skin, intestines, or lungs. In humans, the infection can be treated, but it is almost always fatal in animals.

Anthrax is often fatal to cattle, sheep, and goats, and their hides, wool, and bones are often heavily contaminated. In humans, the disease is almost always an occupational hazard, contracted by those who handle animal hides (farmers, butchers, and veterinarians) or sort wool. It is also possible to become infected with anthrax by eating meat from contaminated animals. There are no reports of the disease spreading between people.

Symptoms vary depending on how the disease was contracted. They usually appear within one week of exposure. In humans, anthrax most frequently occurs when the bacteria enter a cut or abrasion. Cutaneous anthrax, as this infection is called, is the...