Sheep dead with Anthrax symptoms in Warangal

Four sheep and a goat have died with symptoms of Anthrax in Warangal district of Telangana, prompting officials to carry out measures to prevent the infection spread among the livestock.

Anthrax infection is caused by spore-forming bacteria called Bacillus anthracis which typically affects ruminants such as cows, sheep, and goats.

The animal deaths took place in Chapalabanda village of Duggondi mandal over the past few days.

Dr M BalaKrishna, district veterinary and animal husbandry officer, said that the deaths are caused by Anthrax are yet to be confirmed.

“Tests at our Animal Diseases Diagnostics Lab in Warangal showed symptoms of Anthrax. We have sent the samples to Hyderabad labs for verification,” Dr Balakrishna told DH.

The department has anyway initiated vaccination for the livestock in the surrounding areas as a precaution. Officials said there is no cause of worry for humans.

According to the WHO, Anthrax usually does not typically spread from animal to animal or human to human. “The disease is present in most parts of the world, but the frequency of outbreaks varies. Anthrax spores may remain dormant in the soil for long periods and resurface when the soil is disturbed, such as by flooding, torrential rains or landslides. The disease reappears when the spores are then ingested by grazing ruminants.”

Anthrax in humans is of three forms. Cutaneous, or skin, anthrax is the most common form contracted when a person with cuts or abrasion comes into direct contact with anthrax spores. Gastrointestinal anthrax is caught from eating meat of an infected animal. The most severe, and rarest, form of human anthrax is called inhalation or pulmonary anthrax. “This form of disease is caused when a person is directly exposed to a large number of anthrax spores suspended in the air, and breathes them in,” WHO says.

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