Health

FG confirms anthrax disease in Niger

The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has confirmed the first case of anthrax in Suleja, Niger State.

The Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Dr Columba Vakuru, in a statement on Monday, said animals showing signs of a possible case of anthrax on a farm in Suleja were reported to his office on July 14, 2023.

Vakuru stated: “The case was in a multi-specie animal farm comprising of cattle, sheep, and goats located at Gajiri, along Abuja-Kaduna expressway in Suleja Local Government Area, Niger State, where some of the animals had symptoms including oozing of blood from their body openings – anus, nose, eyes, and ears.”

Anthrax outbreaks are fairly common worldwide and mostly affect agricultural workers.

Humans become sick with the disease by handling animal products such as wool, hide, or bone from animals infected with the anthrax bacterium.

Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The bacteria lives in the soil and usually infects wild and domestic animals, such as goats, cattle, and sheep.

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), those with pulmonary anthrax are at risk of respiratory collapse and suffer the highest mortality rate of any anthrax victims, with 92 per cent of cases resulting in death.

The CDC said the third form of the disease, gastrointestinal anthrax, can occur when a person consumes the meat of an anthrax-infected animal.

“This is the rarest form of anthrax in the United States, but it can be deadly: Between 20 and 60 per cent of all gastrointestinal-anthrax cases result in death,” it said.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the most common form of the disease, cutaneous anthrax, was contracted when bacteria spores enter the body through a cut or scrape on the skin.

Of the three forms of the disease – cutaneous, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal, cutaneous anthrax is the easiest to treat with antibiotics.

It is said the disease can also be inhaled into the human respiratory tract – this pulmonary method of infection is most common among those who process wool and animal hides.

The U.S. was hit by an anthrax scare in September 2001 after letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and politicians, killing five and infecting 17 others.

The Star