Anesthesiology clinics of North America
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Anthrax is an often fatal bacterial infection that occurs when Bacillus anthracis endospores enter the body through one of three major routes: inhalational, cutaneous, or gastrointestinal. Before the anthrax terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, there was very little interest in anthrax as a serious human pathogen; anthrax was viewed mainly as a veterinarian problem of minor importance, with most cases attributed to occupational exposure. ⋯ Many, if not most patients, would require some degree of critical care in the form of ventilator or hemodynamic support. It is for this reason that anesthesiologists and other critical care physicians have specific knowledge of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of anthrax.