Periorbital anthrax after soil-contaminated trauma mimicking necrotizing infection: a case report with diagnostic and reconstructive challenges
Journal of Ophthalmic Inflammation and Infection·
- DOI
- 10.1186/s12348-026-00640-8
- PMID
- —
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- —
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The case indicates that cutaneous anthrax should be considered even outside typical zoonotic exposures when wounds are contaminated with soil, and that early Gram stain plus molecular diagnostics can be decisive when cultures are negative. It also illustrates the value of combined antimicrobial, debridement, and oculoplastic reconstructive pathways for severe periocular disease.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The report examines how periorbital cutaneous anthrax following a non-zoonotic, soil-contaminated trauma can be recognized and distinguished from necrotizing periocular infection, and how its diagnostic and reconstructive management should proceed.
Study design
A single-patient case report with diagnostic workup, staged surgical management, and delayed reconstructive follow-up.
Population and setting
A 46-year-old male construction worker who developed periorbital anthrax after a soil-contaminated iron-rod abrasion, with no documented animal exposure, managed in a hospital setting capable of ophthalmology and reconstructive surgery.
Main findings
Periorbital anthrax presented with fulminant necrosis and massive non-pitting edema that mimicked necrotizing fasciitis. Empirical broad-spectrum antibiotics rapidly sterilized cultures, and early Gram staining offered a key microbiological clue. RT-PCR targeting pagA and cap genes confirmed Bacillus anthracis, enabling anthrax-directed therapy. Full-thickness skin grafting at six months corrected the resulting cicatricial ectropion.
Public-health relevance
The case indicates that cutaneous anthrax should be considered even outside typical zoonotic exposures when wounds are contaminated with soil, and that early Gram stain plus molecular diagnostics can be decisive when cultures are negative. It also illustrates the value of combined antimicrobial, debridement, and oculoplastic reconstructive pathways for severe periocular disease.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; the original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation, and the report itself is a single case with no comparative or epidemiological data.
GIDS interpretation
The article sits within anthrax-related diagnostics and One Health topics and could aid reviewer discoverability of non-zoonotic, soil-associated cutaneous anthrax presentations; any connection to a live surveillance signal is not established from the supplied evidence.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 8 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.