The count of people infected with anthrax at Chithhulia under Kayempur of Shahjadpur Upazila have risen to 38 after another 12 people have been identified in Sirajganj.
Those people got sick after consuming beef and coming in close contact with cows.
Dr Nurul Islam Talukder had revealed the matter to bdnews24.com on Thursday.
At least 35 people of Soto Pathailhat village under Sathia Upazila in Pabna were infected with anthrax in August last year.
Expert teams from the Dhaka’s Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) reached the northern district on Thursday and jointly started to treat the infected people.
Subodh Kumar Kundu, chief scientific officer of IEDCR and the team leader, told reporters they had found similarities between symptoms of anthrax and the infected 38.
“In addition, we have collected different specimens including blood from the patients and the mud of the barns of the infected cows.” He, however, said that there was no possibility of an epidemic, “since public awareness initiatives have been strengthened.”
A team from the district civil surgeon’s office led by Dr Shariful Islam and district sanitary inspector Ramchandra Saha on Thursday morning visited the village and confirmed the infection.
Ramchandra had explained that on July 29, a buffalo of Abdus Salam and a cow of Shah Alam — both of which had contracted anthrax — were slaughtered and their meat was sold off to villagers. It is assumed that those who have contracted anthrax had come in close contact with those animals or consumed their meat.
All the patients’ bodies have swollen and they complained of severe pain. They have also developed lesions on their bodies.
Anthrax commonly infects both wild and domesticated mammals which ingest or inhale the bacterium while grazing. Diseased animals can then spread anthrax to humans, either by direct contact or through consumption of the meat.
A views exchange meeting was arranged on Friday in the area before providing treatment at the Uttarpara Primary Milk Producing Cooperatives Society office at Chithhulia.
The civil surgeon said an anthrax-infected dead cow was being drifted into Chithhulia by the flood water a month ago. Later, the two cows were infected too after they reportedly had eaten infected underwater grass and water hyacinth.
District livestock officer Mohammad Shafiqul Islam said the cows in the area are usually are infected with ‘Khura’, ‘Golaphola, ‘Badla’ and anthrax during the rainy season by eating those grasses.
Cows cannot survive from anthrax, he said. “But such a disaster could be addressed quite effectively if there were coordination between the cooperatives’ doctors and those livestock officials.
“It can be life threatening to the people too,” he added.
Society manager of Milk Vita cooperatives Dr Idris Ali said that they had administered vaccine on 200 of the Uttarpara society’s cows in the beginning of the year. The vaccines expire after a year.
“But fearing anthrax, those were re-administered on Aug 9. The two infected cows were bought from other areas,” he claimed.
Locals said there are 300 more cows in the area not belong to the Milk Vita society.
They alleged that the Upazila livestock office does not cooperate regarding vaccine, whenever needed.
Livestock officer Shafiqul admitting such allegation said, “Sometime such happens due to unavailability of the vaccine.”
