Anthrax cases spread to Gaibandha

After Rangpur, anthrax cases have been detected in Gaibandha, prompting the health and livestock authorities to launch a major awareness campaign warning people against consuming the meat of sick cattle.

The Livestock Department has also intensified cattle vaccination in all upazilas of Rangpur and several neighbouring upazilas of Gaibandha and Kurigram, officials said.

They, however, urged people not to panic but to remain cautious, as the disease is fully curable and the fatality rate in humans is very low.

So far, anthrax cases in humans have been detected in three upazilas of Rangpur—Pirgacha, Kaunia and Mithapukur, and Sundarganj upazila of Gaibandha, they said.

Eight out of 12 people whose samples were collected from Pirgachha upazila of Rangpur with anthrax symptoms tested positive at the laboratory of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) late last month.

The agency collected the samples after two people had died in Pirgachha earlier this month and last month with symptoms resembling anthrax.

However, IEDCR could not confirm whether they had died of anthrax, as no samples were taken from them before their deaths.

Besides, the Department of Livestock also detected anthrax in frozen beef in the same area.

Anthrax is an acute bacterial infection of zoonotic origin that affects both humans and animals, according to IEDCR.

Humans can contract the disease through skin breaches, ingestion of raw or undercooked meat, or inhalation of spores, with an incubation period ranging from 1 to 20 days.

The infection is usually fatal for affected animals. While the fatality rate in humans is very low, if not promptly diagnosed and treated, the infection can turn deadly.

Since 2010, anthrax has been reported every year from different areas of Bangladesh, particularly in the northern regions.

The anthrax issue came to the fore after the death of two people with symptoms resembling anthrax and the death of more than 100 cows over the past three months.

After Pirgacha, anthrax cases in humans have been detected in Kaunia and Mithapukur upazilas of Rangpur district, taking the total number of confirmed anthrax infections to 11, reports our Lalmonirhat correspondent.

Two cases were detected in Kaunia and one in Mithapukur on October 1, said Rangpur Civil Surgeon Shahin Sultana.

Meanwhile, Gaibandha Civil Surgeon Md Rafiquzzaman said 11 people from Sundarganj upazila have also been infected with anthrax.

Sundarganj borders Pirgacha, and the cases were confirmed after the patients showed symptoms similar to those observed among the infected people in Pirgacha upon consuming meat of sick cattle, he said.

Health workers are working to raise awareness, urging people not to consume meat from sick cattle and to seek immediate treatment if any symptoms appear.

Although no cases have been detected in his district, they are also raising awareness, as the district borders Rangpur, said Kurigram Civil Surgeon Shwapon Kumar Biswas.

Field-level health workers in these districts were instructed to raise awareness about the issue, said Md Gausul Azim Chowdhury, Rangpur divisional director of the Directorate General of Health Services.

"We hope the situation will come under full control within a few days," he told this correspondent yesterday.

Although cattle vaccination is their regular task, they have intensified vaccination in three districts, said Abdul Hai Sarkar, Rangpur divisional director of the Livestock Department.

Vaccination at all upazilas of Rangpur is almost complete, while an intensified vaccination campaign is underway in Sundarganj and three upazilas of Kurigram -- Rajarhat, Ulipur, and Chilmari -- as they have a border with Pirgacha, he added.

Our Lalmonirhat Correspondent also contributed the report