But that was the more common skin form, not the inhaled type of anthrax, an especially lethal and rare form in which the disease settles in the lungs. During the 20th century, only 18 cases of inhaled anthrax were reported in the United States, the most recent in 1976. That, too, was deadly. But he said a release of the germ by terrorists is on the list of possibilities under investigation. Eric Croddy, a bioterroism expert at California's Monterey Institute, said that everything so far leads him to believe that the government is right, that Stevens caught the disease naturally and that it is an isolated case.
Anthrax causes pneumonia, and patients are treated with antibiotics.
There is also a vaccine to prevent the spread of the disease, but it is available only to the military now. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.