Welder's anthrax
| Welder's Anthrax | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Infectious disease |
| Symptoms | Pneumonia like |
| Causes | Bacillus cereus group bacteria |
| Risk factors | Welding; metalworking without sufficient ventilation |
| Treatment | Antibiotics, antitoxin |
| Medication | Obiltoxaximab |
| Frequency | Nine documented cases since 1994 |
| Deaths | Six |
Welder's anthrax is a disease that closely resembles anthrax and is seemingly associated with welders and other metal workers. The term was first coined in 2022 in a paper that noted a cluster of cases presenting as severe pneumonia among welders attributed to anthrax toxin.[1] Though illness attributed to anthrax toxin is typically associated with infection by anthrax bacteria, Bacillus anthracis, these workers appeared to be infected with different disease causing bacteria, Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis', that was able to produce the toxin by means of a plasmid.
The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recognized that metalworkers, especially welders, are at risk of catching welder's anthrax. The cause of the elevated risk is not well understood, but researchers have speculated that metal fumes, and specifically iron oxide, inhaled by metal workers may create susceptibility to the disease.[2]
Epidemiology
As of January 2026, nine cases have been documented by the US CDC (six fatal), all involving metalworkers from Texas and Louisiana.[3] The bacteria Bacillus tropicus was isolated from a patient in September 2024.[4]
Treatment
Obiltoxaximab, a monoclonal antibody anthrax antitoxin was used to successfully treat Welder's anthrax in September 2024.[4]
References
- ^ Perio, Marie (26 March 2022). "Welder's Anthrax: A Review of an Occupational Disease". Pathogens. 11 (4): 402. doi:10.3390/pathogens11040402. PMC 9029013. PMID 35456077.
- ^ "About Welder's Anthrax". cdc.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 18 December 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
- ^ "CDC Report Documents Ninth Known Case of Welder's Anthrax". AIHA. Retrieved 2026-02-11.
- ^ a b Julie M. Thompson, D. V. M.; Eric W. Lundstrom, PhD; Lindsay D. Hein, PhD; Cari A. Beesley, M. S.; Marston, Chung K.; Zaayenga, Rebecca; Christopher A. Gulvik, PhD; Taylor K. Paisie, M. S.; Julie Hand, Msph; Chad H. Dowell, M. S.; Karl Feldmann, M. S.; Dawn Blackburn, Bvms; Caroline A. Schrodt, M. D.; William A. Bower, M. D.; Katherine M. DeBord, M. P. H. (2026). "Welder's Anthrax Treated with Obiltoxaximab — Louisiana, 2024". MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 74. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7442a1. ISSN 0149-2195. PMC 12752933.