Initial symptoms may include nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting and fever. As the infection progresses, there may be severe abdominal pain, vomiting of blood and severe diarrhea. Broad-spectrum antibiotics may be effective against intestinal anthrax. The inhaled bacteria take hold in the lungs and produce toxins. After about 12 hours, symptoms begin to appear.
Initial symptoms are generally non-specific, and resemble a common cold.
But, after several days of these mild symptoms, the infection begins to rapidly progress. The person may have a high fever and go into shock. Chest pain occurs and breathing becomes very difficult as the lungs fill with fluids. It progresses rapidly to a systemic hemorrhagic pathology. The person may briefly improve after 2-4 days, but once this occurs, symptoms become acute, and the person usually dies within 24 hours.