Lab director was asking for a blood test for anthrax. how do you do it?

No conventional test: There are no conventional blood tests for anthrax. Diagnosis requires culture from the lesion(s). A presumptive positive specimen should be referred to the local state health agency.

No direct Test: If spores were identified on a gram stain that could be used to confirm diagnosis. The problem is that spores are often not present. Gram positive organism can change over time. Confirmatory tests include gamma bacteriophage testing, indirect hemagglutination and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay to detect antibodies.