Usually penicillin is preferred, but erythromycin, tetracycline, or chloramphenicol can also be used. To be effective, treatment should be initiated early. The disease could be fatal in untreated cases. Although anthrax can be found globally, it is more often a risk in countries with less standardized and effective public health programs. Areas currently listed as high risk are South and Central America, Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East.
Anthrax vaccine is available for people in high-risk occupations.
In countries where anthrax is common and vaccination levels of animal herds is low, humans should avoid contact with livestock and animal products, and avoid eating meat that has not been properly slaughtered and cooked. For high risk occupations, such as those exposed to potentially contaminated animal hair, wool or hides, vaccination is recommended. An anthrax vaccine has been licensed for use in humans. The anthrax vaccine is a cell-free filtrate vaccine, which means it uses dead bacteria as opposed to live bacteria. BioPort Corporation is the sole manufacturer of the anthrax vaccine.