What Is Anthrax: Authoritative Answers on Symptoms, Transmission Routes and Effective Prevention
Recently, anthrax in cattle and sheep occurred one after another in Huanan County, Heilongjiang and Shengli Village, Horqin District, Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia. At present, the head of the Veterinary Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated that the sheep anthrax outbreak in Huanan County, Heilongjiang has been effectively controlled. The cattle anthrax outbreak in Shengli Village, Horqin District, Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia is being handled in an orderly manner. So what is anthrax? What symptoms does it cause? Through which routes is it transmitted? How can it be effectively prevented? Here comes the authoritative answer!
According to preliminary analysis, both outbreak sites are old anthrax epidemic areas. Recently, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia and other provinces have received large amounts of rainfall, with torrential rain falling continuously in some areas. Heavy rain and floods washed anthrax bacteria up to the surface of the ground, and livestock became infected through contact.
What is anthrax?
Experts explain that anthrax is an acute, febrile, septic zoonotic disease caused by Bacillus anthracis. China classifies it as a Class II animal disease, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases classifies it as a Class B infectious disease, and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) lists it as a notifiable animal disease.
Anthrax is a global zoonotic disease, with about 20,000 to 100,000 cases each year. It occurs in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania. In China, anthrax outbreaks are mainly concentrated in some provinces in the northwest, southwest and northeast. Outbreaks can occur in all four seasons, with the peak from June to September each year, and drought and flooding are the main triggers.
Who is susceptible to anthrax?
Various domestic animals and wild animals can be infected, and herbivores such as horses, cattle and sheep are the most susceptible; anthrax is a zoonotic disease, and humans can also be infected.
Humans and animals are mainly infected through the digestive tract, and can also be infected through the respiratory tract or contact with damaged skin. Contaminated soil, water sources and sites can form persistent epidemic foci. In most cases, herbivores such as cattle and sheep become infected by ingesting spores while grazing, and humans become infected through contact with the meat, fur, blood or other contaminants such as soil of infected livestock. Contact with healthy cattle, sheep and other animals and their meat products will not cause anthrax infection.
How should herders and farmers prevent and control anthrax?
Anthrax mostly occurs as sporadic outbreaks, but anthrax spores are extremely resistant, can survive for more than 40 years in dry soil and contaminated grassland, and exist in nature for long periods. Ordinary disinfectants have a very poor killing effect on spores, making them difficult to eliminate. Herders and farms, especially in areas where anthrax outbreaks have occurred before, should take precautions in the following aspects:
Farmers with the capacity to do so should vaccinate susceptible animals;
Strictly control the entry of people, vehicles and susceptible animals into farms, and strictly implement disinfection measures for farm sites, pens, and the people, vehicles and items entering and leaving;
Do not transport susceptible animals from epidemic areas;
Animals brought in from non-epidemic areas must have complete quarantine procedures, and after arrival must be isolated and observed, and only mixed into the herd for raising when there are no abnormal conditions;
If cattle, sheep, pigs and other livestock are found to have died suddenly or show bleeding from natural orifices, abdominal bloating, elevated body temperature and other signs, the dead or sick animals should be isolated and their movement restricted. Do not slaughter, eat, sell or transport dead animals or their products, and promptly report to the local veterinary department.
Can meat products such as beef and mutton still be eaten?
Do not eat the meat of dead or sick cattle or sheep, or meat products of unknown origin. Beef and mutton purchased through regular channels have all undergone quarantine, and can be eaten with confidence when cooked thoroughly.
Event review:
On August 8, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs received a report from the Heilongjiang Provincial Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau that an outbreak of sheep anthrax had occurred at a livestock breeding farm in Huanan County of the province. Between July 29 and August 7, a total of 12 animals fell ill and 7 died, and sporadic human cases of anthrax infection appeared one after another. As of the 9th, a total of 14 human cases of cutaneous anthrax had been reported, of which 1 person had been cured and discharged, and the remaining patients were in stable and improving condition. The outbreak has been effectively controlled. (For details see: Heilongjiang Reports Human Anthrax Infections: Why Is It Prone to Occur at This Time?)
Since August 7, cattle deaths from unknown causes occurred in Shengli Village, Dalin Town, Horqin District, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and testing led to a diagnosis of suspected cattle anthrax. As of 16:00 on August 13, a total of 54 cattle in the village had fallen ill, 29 had died, and 25 had been culled, and a total of 16 suspected cases in people had been found. The patients are currently in stable condition. (For details see: Suspected Cattle Anthrax Cases in Tongliao, Inner Mongolia Increase to 16: About Anthrax, These Facts You Need to Know↓)