Symptoms of Anthrax
Symptoms of Anthrax
The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources
for Anthrax includes the 33
symptoms listed below:
Research symptoms & diagnosis of Anthrax:
Anthrax: Complications
Review medical complications possibly associated with Anthrax:
Anthrax Symptoms: Book Excerpts
Diagnostic Testing
Diagnostic testing of medical conditions related to Anthrax:
Research More About Anthrax
Do I have Anthrax?
Anthrax: Medical Mistakes
Anthrax: Undiagnosed Conditions
Diseases that may be commonly undiagnosed in related medical areas:
Home Diagnostic Testing
Home medical tests related to Anthrax:
Wrongly Diagnosed with Anthrax?
The list of other diseases or medical conditions
that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses
for Anthrax includes:
See the full list of 4
alternative diagnoses for Anthrax
Anthrax: Research Doctors & Specialists
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More information about symptoms of Anthrax and related conditions:
Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms
Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list
of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions,
or drug side effect causes of that symptom.
Medical Books Online about Anthrax
Medical Books Excerpts
Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Anthrax
are available from published medical books
for more detailed information about Anthrax.
Medical Books Excerpts
- Edema
- "In A Page: Pediatric Signs and Symptoms" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Edema
- "A Pocket Manual of Differential Diagnosis" (1999)
- [ read ]
- Plague
- "Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition)" (2005)
- [ read ]
- Anthrax
- "Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition)" (2005)
- [ read ]
- Pustular rash
- "Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition)" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Edema
- "The 10-Minute Diagnosis Manual: Symptoms and Signs in the Time-Limited Encounter" (2000)
- [ read ]
- Edema
- "Field Guide to Bedside Diagnosis" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Edema, facial
- "Alarming Signs and Symptoms: Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice Series" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Edema, generalized
- "Alarming Signs and Symptoms: Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice Series" (2007)
- [ read ]
- Edema
- "The Diagnostic Approach to Symptoms and Signs in Pediatrics" (2006)
- [ read ]
- Anthrax
- "The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult" (2008)
- [ read ]
- Edema
- "The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult" (2008)
- [ read ]
- Plague
- "The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult" (2008)
- [ read ]
Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.
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Symptoms of Anthrax: Online Medical Books
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE!
Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration,
for more information about the symptoms of Anthrax.
Plague:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
The incubation period, early symptoms, severity at onset, and clinical course vary in the three forms of plague. In bubonic plague, the incubation period is 2 to 8 days. The milder form begins with malaise, fever, and pain or tenderness in regional lymph nodes, possibly associated with swelling. Lymph node damage (usually axillary or inguinal) eventually produces painful, inflamed, and possibly suppurative buboes. The classic sign of plague is an excruciatingly painful bubo. Hemorrhagic areas may become necrotic; in the skin, such areas appear dark — hence the name “black death.”
This infection can progress extremely rapidly. A seemingly mildly ill person with only fever and adenitis may become moribund within hours. Plague may also begin dramatically, with a sudden high fever of 103° to 106° F (39.4° to 41.1° C), chills, myalgia, headache, prostration, restlessness, disorientation, delirium, toxemia, and staggering gait. Occasionally, it causes abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and constipation followed by diarrhea (frequently bloody), skin mottling, petechiae, and circulatory collapse.
In primary pneumonic plague, the incubation period is 2 to 3 days followed by a typically acute onset, with high fever, chills, severe headache, tachycardia, tachypnea, dyspnea, and a productive cough (first mucoid sputum, later frothy pink or red).
Secondary pneumonic plague, the pulmonary extension of the bubonic form, complicates about 5% of cases of untreated plague. A cough producing bloody sputum signals this complication. Both the primary and secondary forms of pneumonic plague rapidly cause severe prostration, respiratory distress and, usually, death.
Septicemic plague usually develops without overt lymph node enlargement. In this form, the patient shows toxicity, hyperpyrexia, seizures, prostration, shock, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Septicemic plague causes widespread nonspecific tissue damage — such as peritoneal or pleural effusions, pericarditis, and meningitis. It's rapidly fatal unless promptly and correctly treated.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Anthrax:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
From the time of exposure, signs and symptoms of infection usually occur within 1 to 7 days but may take as long as 60 days to appear. The signs and symptoms of anthrax depend on the form acquired:
❑Cutaneous anthrax: This is the most common form of anthrax. Skin infection may begin as a small, elevated, itchy lesion that resembles an insect bite, develops into a vesicle in 1 to 2 days, and finally becomes a small, painless ulcer with a necrotic center. Enlarged lymph glands in the surrounding area are common. Without treatment, mortality from cutaneous anthrax is 20%; it's less than 1% with treatment.
❑Inhalational anthrax: The patient may initially report flulike signs and symptoms, such as malaise, fever, headache, myalgia, and chills. These mild signs and symptoms may progress to severe respiratory difficulties, such as dyspnea, stridor, chest pain, and cyanosis, followed by the onset of shock. Even with treatment, inhalational anthrax is usually fatal.
❑GI anthrax: Ingestion of anthrax spores can cause acute inflammation of the intestinal tract. The patient may present with nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, and fever, which then progress to abdominal pain, vomiting blood, and severe diarrhea. With treatment, death occurs in 25% to 60% of cases.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Acute pulmonary edema:
Signs and Symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Dyspnea; orthopnea; coughing; tachycardia; tachypnea; crackles; jugular vein distention; diastolic gallop; cyanosis; confusion; frothy, bloody sputum; cold, clammy skin
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Pulmonary edema:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
The early symptoms of pulmonary edema reflect interstitial fluid accumulation and diminished lung compliance: dyspnea on exertion, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, orthopnea, and coughing. Clinical features include tachycardia, tachypnea, dependent crackles, jugular vein distention, and a diastolic (S3) gallop. With severe pulmonary edema, the alveoli and bronchioles may fill with fluid and intensify the early symptoms. Respiration becomes labored and rapid, with more diffuse crackles and coughing that produces frothy, bloody sputum. Tachycardia increases, and arrhythmias may occur. Skin becomes cold, clammy, diaphoretic, and cyanotic. Blood pressure falls and the pulse becomes thready as cardiac output falls.
Symptoms of severe heart failure with pulmonary edema may also include signs of hypoxemia, such as anxiety, restlessness, and changes in the patient’s level of consciousness.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Plague:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
The three forms of plague vary in their incubation period, early symptoms, severity at onset, and clinical course.
Bubonic plague
With bubonic plague, the incubation period is 2 to 6 days. The milder form begins with malaise, fever, and pain or tenderness in regional lymph nodes, possibly associated with swelling. Lymph node damage (usually axillary or inguinal) eventually produces painful, inflamed, and possibly suppurative buboes. The classic sign of plague is an excruciatingly painful bubo. Hemorrhagic areas may become necrotic; in the skin, such areas appear dark — hence the name “black death.”
Bubonic plague can progress rapidly. A seemingly mildly ill person with fever and adenitis may become moribund within hours.
Bubonic plague may also begin dramatically, with a sudden high fever of 103° to 106° F (39.4° to 41.1° C), chills, myalgia, headache, prostration, restlessness, disorientation, delirium, toxemia, and staggering gait. Occasionally, it causes abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and constipation followed by diarrhea (frequently bloody), skin mottling, petechiae, and circula-tory collapse.
Septicemic plague
Septicemic plague usually develops without overt lymph node enlargement. With this form, the patient shows toxicity, hyperpyrexia, seizures, prostration, shock, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Septicemic plague causes widespread nonspecific tissue damage — such as peritoneal or pleural effusions, pericarditis, and meningitis — and is fatal if the patient doesn’t receive prompt treatment.
Pneumonic plague
Primary pneumonic plague is an acutely fulminant, highly contagious form of plague that causes acute prostration, respiratory distress, and death — typically within 2 to 3 days after onset.
The incubation period for primary pneumonic plague is 2 to 3 days. It’s followed by a typically acute onset, including high fever, chills, severe headache, tachycardia, tachypnea, dyspnea, and a productive cough (first mucoid sputum; later frothy pink or red).
Secondary pneumonic plague, the pulmonary extension of the bubonic form, complicates about 5% of cases of untreated plague. A cough that produces bloody sputum signals this complication. The primary and secondary forms of pneumonic plague rapidly cause severe prostration, respiratory distress and, usually, death.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Anthrax:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
From the time of exposure, signs and symptoms of infection usually occur within 1 to 7 days but may take as long as 60 days to appear. The signs and symptoms of anthrax depend on the form acquired:
Cutaneous anthrax: This is the most common form of anthrax. Skin infection may begin as a small, elevated, itchy lesion that resembles an insect bite, develops into a vesicle in 1 to 2 days, and finally becomes a small, painless ulcer with a necrotic (black) center. Enlarged lymph glands in the surrounding area are common. Without treatment, the mortality rate from cutaneous anthrax is 20%; the mortality rate is less than 1% with treatment.
Inhalational anthrax: The patient may initially report flulike signs and symptoms, such as malaise, fever, headache, myalgia, and chills. Such milder signs and symptoms may progress to severe respiratory difficulties, such as dyspnea, stridor, chest pain, and cyanosis, followed by the onset of shock. Even with treatment, inhalational anthrax is usually fatal.
GI anthrax: Ingestion of anthrax spores can cause acute inflammation of the intestinal tract. The patient may present with nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, and fever, which then progress to abdominal pain, vomiting blood, and severe diarrhea. With treatment, death occurs in 25% to 60% of cases.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Pulmonary edema:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Symptoms vary with the stage of pulmonary edema.
Early signs and symptoms
The early signs and symptoms of pulmonary edema reflect interstitial fluid accumulation and diminished lung compliance: exertional dyspnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, orthopnea, and coughing. Clinical features include tachycardia, tachypnea, dependent crackles, jugular vein distention, and a diastolic (S3) gallop.
Later signs and symptoms
With severe pulmonary edema, the alveoli and bronchioles may fill with fluid and intensify the early signs and symptoms. Respiration becomes labored and rapid, with more diffuse crackles and coughing productive of frothy, bloody sputum. Tachycardia increases and arrhythmias may occur. The skin becomes cold, clammy, diaphoretic, and cyanotic. Blood pressure falls and the pulse becomes thready as cardiac output falls.
Symptoms of severe heart failure with pulmonary edema may also include depressed level of consciousness and confusion.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Edema:
Edema - signs & symptoms
(The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult)
Approach to the patient: General goals:
- Determine the cause of swelling:
- Is it localized?
- Are there any losses of protein?
- Is there underproduction of protein?
- Determine the serum protein/albumin; consider increased losses or decreased production.
- Phase 1: Is the swelling localized as seen in trauma, lymphatic, or venous obstruction?
- Phase 2: Are there urinary or GI losses?
- Associated with decreased serum albumin
- Most likely source of loss is renal disease, less frequently gastrointestinal losses.
- Phase 3: Search for other causes of edema, such as insect bites, pericardial effusion, metabolic disease.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 2008
Plague:
Plague - signs & symptoms
(The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult)
- Bubonic plague:
- Initial symptom: Pain in the groin or axillae prior to lymph node swelling
- Lymphadenitis (usually inguinal > axillary > cervical)
- Systemic manifestations
- Septicemic plague:
- Tachycardia
- Hypotension
- Other organ involvement
- Bubonic or septicemic plague may progress to pneumonic plague.
- Pneumonic plague:
- Pneumonia
- Systemic manifestations
- Rapidly progressive
- Often fatal
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 2008
Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Anthrax:
Anthrax General: DBMD (Excerpt)
Symptoms of disease vary depending on how the disease was contracted,
but symptoms usually occur within 7 days.
Cutaneous: Most (about 95%) anthrax
infections occur when the bacterium enters a cut or abrasion on
the skin, such as when handling contaminated wool, hides, leather
or hair products (especially goat hair) of infected animals. Skin
infection begins as a raised itchy bump that resembles an insect
bite but within 1-2 days develops into a vesicle and then a painless
ulcer, usually 1-3 cm in diameter, with a characteristic black
necrotic (dying) area in the center. Lymph glands in the adjacent
area may swell. About 20% of untreated cases of cutaneous anthrax
will result in death. Deaths are rare with appropriate antimicrobial
therapy.
Inhalation: Initial symptoms may resemble
a common cold. After several days, the symptoms may progress to
severe breathing problems and shock. Inhalation anthrax is usually
fatal.
Intestinal: The intestinal disease
form of anthrax may follow the consumption of contaminated meat
and is characterized by an acute inflammation of the intestinal
tract. Initial signs of nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, fever
are followed by abdominal pain, vomiting of blood, and severe
diarrhea. Intestinal anthrax results in death in 25% to 60% of
cases. (Source: excerpt from Anthrax General: DBMD)
Anthrax: NWHIC (Excerpt)
Persons should watch for the following symptoms:
- Fever (temperature greater than 100 degrees F)
- Flu-like symptoms (cough, fatigue, muscle aches), nausea, vomiting,
or diarrhea
- A sore, especially on your face, arms or hands.
(Source: excerpt from Anthrax: NWHIC)
Anthrax as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions
When considering symptoms of Anthrax, it is also important to consider Anthrax as a possible cause of other medical conditions.
The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Anthrax may cause:
- (Source - Diseases Database)
Anthrax: Onset and Incubation
Incubation period for Anthrax: Usually within 7 days of exposure.
Incubation period for Anthrax: Symptoms of disease vary depending on how the disease was contracted,
but usually occur within 7 days after exposure. (Source: excerpt from Anthrax: NWHIC)
Medical articles and books on symptoms:
These general reference articles may be of interest
in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:
Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis
About signs and symptoms of Anthrax:
The symptom information on this page
attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Anthrax.
This signs and symptoms information for Anthrax has been gathered from various sources,
may not be fully accurate,
and may not be the full list of Anthrax signs or Anthrax symptoms.
Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Anthrax may vary on an individual basis for each patient.
Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they
are indeed Anthrax symptoms.
Listen to asthma specialist Dr. Nancy Ostrom discuss the use of inhaled steroids in children with asthma.
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» Next page: Diagnostic Tests for Anthrax
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