Volume 8, Number 10—October 2002
THEME ISSUE
Bioterrorism-related Anthrax
Anthrax Perspectives
Epidemiologic Responses to Anthrax Outbreaks: A Review of Field Investigations, 1950–2001
Michael E. Bales*, Andrew L. Dannenberg*
, Philip S. Brachman†, Arnold F. Kaufmann*, Peter C. Klatsky*‡, and David A. Ashford*
, Philip S. Brachman†, Arnold F. Kaufmann*, Peter C. Klatsky*‡, and David A. Ashford*Table 1
CDC field investigations of suspected anthrax in humans and animals and reported cases of anthrax in humans, United States, 1950–2001a
| Years | Field investigations |
No. of cases of anthrax in humans reported nationallyc | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of investigationsb | No. of human cases |
||||
| Cutaneous | Inhalational | Total | |||
| 1950–54 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 223 |
| 1955–59 | 11 | 16 | 6 | 22 | 131 |
| 1960–64 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 54 |
| 1965–69 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 21 |
| 1970–74 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 13 |
| 1975–79 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| 1980–84 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1985–89 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 1990–94 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1995–99 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000–01d | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | Not available |
| Total | 44 | 39 | 9 | 48 | 458 |
aCDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
bExcludes three investigations of suspected anthrax conducted outside the United States (1967, 1986, 1998) and two investigations focused on decontamination of Bacillus anthracis–contaminated textile mills (1967, 1972).
cSources: CDC. MMWR Summary of Notifiable Diseases, United States, 1994 (10); and MMWR Summary of Notifiable Diseases, United States, 1999 (11).
dBefore October 2001 bioterrorism-related anthrax cases.
