[Inhalation anthrax in a textile worker: non-fatal course].

The development of dyspnea, hematemesis, melaena and symptoms of shock following an apparently minor infection of the upper respiratory tract in a 37-year-old textile worker marked the onset of an acute threatening illness. Pleuracentesis revealed 3.8 l of hemorrhagic exudate. Chest x-rays showed a significant increase in mediastinal width. Conspicuous laboratory findings were hemoconcentration, anemia and leukocytosis, and increased serum activities for SGOT, SGPT and alkaline phosphatase. The infection occurred during an industrial epidemic of 24 cases of cutaneous anthrax, and the diagnosis of inhalation anthrax was based on the occupational exposure and a positive "Anthraxin" skin test which was later confirmed by EIA. The patient survived the usually fatal illness after treatment with antibiotics and prednisolone.