Anthrax

Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis. It is rare in Ontario. The bacteria can be found naturally in soil, and it can infect farm animals such as cattle, sheep, and pigs. Although uncommon, a person can become infected with anthrax by contact with infected animals or exposure to contaminated animal products.

Local Information

2025 Statistics

Incidence rate is the number of new cases of disease divided by the number of persons at risk for the disease during a particular time period.

Cases:
0*

*Includes confirmed cases in 2025.

Incidence rate per 100,000 in 2025: 0

Incidence rate per 100,000 of Anthrax by year

A line graph showing the crude rate and five year moving average of Anthrax by year within the Health Unit region between 2016 and 2025.

Data Sources

Case counts (2016-2025), population estimates (2016-2023), & population projections (2024-2025): Public Health Ontario.
Query: Case counts of reportable diseases by public health unit and year. Toronto, ON: Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion; extracted on March 9, 2026.

More Information about Anthrax

PHAC Anthrax Fact Sheet: English and Français

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety: English and Français
Public Health Agency of Canada Cleaning and Disinfection of Anthrax-Contaminated Sites and Materials: English and Français
Ministry of Health - Guidelines for Workplaces Identifying and Handling Anthrax Threats: English and Français

Reporting

Report to the Health Unit immediately by fax (705-482-0670) and phone at 705-474-1400 or toll free at 1-800-563-2808, ext. 5229 if anthrax is suspected or confirmed as per Ontario Regulation 135/18 and amendments under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, R.S.O., c.H.7.

After hours, weekends and holidays, call 705-474-1400 then press 0 to speak with the Answering Service. The on-call CDC Public Health Nurse will get back to you as soon as possible.

Should one go to childcare, school, or work if they have anthrax?

No exclusion necessary as people exposed to anthrax are not contagious.

Healthcare Provider Information

Vaccination

High risk individuals, such as laboratory workers and animal handlers may be immunized where indicated. Anthrax vaccine for the prevention of disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, is approved by Health Canada under Extraordinary Use New Drug Regulations, for these limited indications.

Treatment

Treatment of the individual should be under the direction of an infectious disease specialist.

Any requests for the use of anthrax antitoxin (anthrax immune globulin) from the National Emergency Strategic Stockpile must be made through the Health Services Emergency Management Branch (HSEMB) of the Ministry of Health.

Infection Prevention and Control

Routine practices for hospitalized persons. Persons who have been exposed to anthrax are not contagious, so quarantine is not appropriate.

Persons with draining and/or open lesions should be cared for using contact precautions (gown and gloves). Dressings with drainage from lesions should be incinerated, autoclaved, or otherwise disposed of as biohazardous waste.

Laboratory Testing

Patients presenting with a clinically compatible illness, such as cutaneous lesions with black eschar, severe respiratory symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms following consumption of contaminated meat and soft tissue infection at injection sites require testing to confirm infection. Isolates will be forwarded to the Public Health Ontario Laboratory for confirmation; see Bacillus anthracis-Confirmation for additional information.

Post-Exposure Prophylaxis

Although there is no person-to-person transmission, there could be a possibility of exposure to a common source; consultation with infectious disease experts may be prudent for decisions about the use of antibiotics for post-exposure prophylaxis.

More Resources

Public Health Ontario: Anthrax
Infectious Diseases Protocol. Appendix 1: Anthrax

Contact our Communicable Disease Control (CDC) program at 705-474-1400 or toll free at 1-800-563-2808, ext. 5229, or by email to cdc@healthunit.ca for more information.

Last updated: Feb. 2026, by CDC