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NOTE: A surveillance case definition is a set of uniform criteria used to define a disease for public health surveillance. Surveillance case definitions enable public health officials to classify and count cases consistently across reporting jurisdictions. Surveillance case definitions are not intended to be used by healthcare providers for making a clinical diagnosis or determining how to meet an individual patient’s health needs.

Subtype(s)

  • Anthrax
  • Cutaneous anthrax
  • Ingestion anthrax
  • Inhalation anthrax
  • Welder's anthrax

Clinical Description

Usually presents as a severe soft tissue infection manifested as significant edema or bruising after an injection. No eschar is apparent, and pain is often not described. Nonspecific symptoms such as fever, shortness of breath, or nausea are sometimes the first indication of illness. Occasionally patients present with meningeal or abdominal involvement. A coagulopathy is not unusual.

Related Case Definition(s)