My anecdotal memory is that every case of anthrax reported in the media is at least life-threatening (I remember seeing an interview a postal worked who survived – his descriptions were pretty harrowing.)
Frail or elderly people are of course more likely to die from it.
What I’m wondering: is it possible for a person to contract anthrax, but been in robust enough health that it never manifests itself as anything more than a bad cold?
Anthrax, caused by Bacillus anthracis, is as old as the hills. Livestock suffer from it around the world and people can get infected in different ways. Spores can enter via skin lesions and create infections. This is the most common infection and hardly ever lethal (Photos. Spores can enter via the pulmonary system and this is the most dangerous and often lethal in short order. Spores can enter the digestive tract and this is lethal in about half the cases. The treatment is always with antibiotics.
So the answer is yes, people have lived with anthrax throughout history and many have survived.
Having been reminded that there are three forms of anthrax (cutaneous (skin), inhalation, and gastrointestinal), I would like to refine the question.
Is *inhalation[i/] anthrax (the most deadly form) always either life-threatening or fatal?
This website http://www.drgreene.com/21_1026.html
says that inhalation anthrax is pretty nasty.
If the disease progresses to its second stage, which seems hard to prevent unless you know you’ve been exposed, the fatality rate is 90 percent.