Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) is an acute infectious disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, a spore-forming bacterium. Anthracis spores can live in the soil for many years where they periodically cause lethal infection following inhalation by mostly rudiments. Animals that have died of anthrax are teeming with the infectious spores and occasionally humans contract the disease when they are exposed to contaminated aerosols or animal products. Cutaneous anthrax is the most common form and begins as a sore on the face, arms or hands, developing into a painless ulcer with a black, necrotic center. Patients suffering from the less common inhalational anthrax may have fever, non-productive cough, chest discomfort, sore throat, enlarged lymph nodes, headache, and vomiting. This rapidly progresses to multi-organ failure resulting from bloodstream invasion by this toxin-producing pathogen. The case fatality rate of cutaneous anthrax is 10-20% while that of inhalational anthrax is 30-70% even with antibiotic treatment. Anthrax is not transmitted from person to person.