How do people get anthrax?
People can catch anthrax from infected animals or contaminated animal products. Most natural infection comes from skin contact. In the past, industrial wool sorters were at high risk of infection. You can also get anthrax infection from eating raw or too-rare meat, although it is uncommon. Even more uncommon – but by far most deadly – is anthrax caught by inhaling spores. This is because a person has to inhale several thousand spores before infection can take hold. Until the events of 9-11, there hadn’t been a case of inhalation anthrax in the United States since 1978. Anthrax is not contagious; it cannot be transmitted from person to person.
