CDC researchers identify new occupational disease among metalworkers

WHAT

Welder’s anthrax is a newly identified, rare but serious disease. Welder’s anthrax is a pneumonia in a metalworker caused by bacteria that produces anthrax toxin. Seven patients diagnosed with what is now termed welder’s anthrax were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 1994–2020. The job title of six patients was welder, and the job title of the seventh was metalworker. This is the first report to describe this newly identified occupational disease and provide additional information on cases, describe possible infection mechanisms, and outline ways to prevent welder’s anthrax in the workplace.

ARTICLE

MA de Perio et al. Welder’s Anthrax: A Review of an Occupational Disease published in the journal, Pathogens. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11040402 (2022)

HOW TO ACCESS THE REPORT AND BLOG

The full report can be accessed using this link:

https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11040402

To retweet this information:

https://twitter.com/NIOSH/status/1517503573273284608

WHO

If you have questions or wish to schedule an interview with lead author Marie de Perio, M.D., a physician and infectious disease expert at CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, please contact:

Stephanie Stevens
Health Communication Specialist
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
yky0@cdc.gov