A healthy 18-year-old welding apprentice in Louisiana recently faced a near-fatal battle with an unusual anthrax-like infection, marking the ninth documented instance of "welder's anthrax" in the United States. The young man, who worked four hours a day, four days a week in poorly ventilated spaces and often without a respirator, developed severe pneumonia and respiratory failure in September 2024, requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation. The infection was identified as being caused by an anthrax-toxin-producing *Bacillus* bacterium, specifically *Bacillus tropicus*. Public health investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the state of Louisiana documented this case, highlighting an unexpected pattern of such infections primarily affecting metalworkers since 1997. Of the nine identified cases, all have occurred in Louisiana or Texas. The exact reasons behind welders' unique vulnerability remain unclear, but experts speculate that inhaling toxic metal fumes and gases might compromise lung immune defenses, while workplace environments could increase exposure to the bacteria. Furthermore, the presence of iron, which *Bacillus* bacteria require to thrive and which can accumulate in metalworkers' respiratory tracts, is also considered a potential factor. Environmental testing at the welder's workplace indeed found anthrax-toxin-producing *Bacillus* in several samples. The welder received a multidrug antimicrobial therapy, along with the drainage of a pleural effusion, and a monoclonal antibody medication called obiltoxaximab, sourced from the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile. Notably, this was the first clinical use of obiltoxaximab for "welder's anthrax." Following treatment, the patient showed rapid improvement and was discharged after 26 days, with all symptoms resolved at a three-month follow-up. This successful treatment offers significant insights into managing this rare and often-fatal condition, which previously had a high mortality rate among reported cases. The CDC has now recognized welding and metalworking as a risk factor for anthrax exposure.