[Skip Ripley]

I thought Anthrax was bacterial as opposed to a virus...

[hole_n_one]

My terminology may indeed be flawed.

[hole_n_one]

CNN keeps fluctuating between the terms virus, bacteria and strain.

[the_doc]

You're correct. It is a rod-shaped bacterium. The rod is called a bacillus. The full name of the organism is Bacillus anthracis. Like several other bacillus bacteria, it can form spores when subjected to various environmental stresses. As far as I know, this is not a normal means of its spread. However, if the spores are formed (for example, in laboratory cultures under conditions favoring spore formation), these spores are inhalable.

This is how a person can get pulmonary anthrax rather than the more common and less serious cutaneous anthrax.

I gather from the available literature that the pulmonary anthrax does not promote further spore formation. Hence, pulmonary anthrax is not considered highly contagious.