Two rare presentations of fatal anthrax: meningeal and intestinal.
Anthrax is an ancient disease of animals and men, caused by Bacillus anthracis. The diagnosis of cutaneous infection is relatively easy, but other clinical forms might escape recognition. We present two rare and fatal forms of anthrax: meningeal in a 33-year-old male shepherd and intestinal in a 4-year-old boy. The former was admitted to the hospital with complaints of headache, vomiting, fever, and decreased level of consciousness. The latter presented with abdominal pain and distension, vomiting, and fever. Both cases were proven by animal inoculation.
Khoddami
Maliheh
M
Department of Pathology, Imam Hussein Hospital, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Mofid Hospital, Shariati Street, Tehran, Iran. malihehkhodami@yahoo.com
Shirvani
Fariba
F
Esmaeili
Jaleh
J
Beladimogaddam
Nahid
N
D000328:Adult; D000881:Anthrax / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016920:Meningitis, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*