Despite the distribution of vaccine, the Anthrax is continuously spreading in different districts of the country, infecting more people with the disease.
As per the latest reports, the Anthrax has been spreading every day in many districts including Kushtia and Meherpur following Pabna, Sirajganj and Tangail districts.
To combat its further spread, the local government officials are yet to bring an efficacious results due to the shortages of manpower and vaccine also.
Along with the persons who have already been affected by Anthrax’ about 14 new people came under the infection yesterday, with the deaths of three cows and two goats at different villages under Gangni upazila in Khustia
The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is yet to prepare well to prevent entering Anthrax infected cows into the city, giving scopes to the unscrupulous traders to sell Anthrax-infected beef, a concerned official of DCC on condition of anonymity told The New Nation yesterday.
However, the DCC has a plan to hold a seminar and other programmes to make the people aware against the adverse affect of consuming Anthrax -infected cows’ meat, he said.
Meanwhile, following the outbreak of Anthrax’ the sale of beef has sharply decline in the capital kitchen markets yesterday.
Despite the fall of sale, the price remained high one kg of beef was sold between Tk 260 and Tk 270 in the markets, according to traders.
However, the DCC is not doing enough in detecting the cows infected with ‘Anthrax’ due to insufficient logistic supports, a source of the organisation told The New Nation.
Customers have vented their dissatisfaction over the poor vigilance of the concerned departments on checking the sale of infected cows’ meat.
“The government should take steps to prevent selling of Anthrax infected beef by the traders, ” said Selina Khatun, a private bank official said.
Most of the cows are being slaughtered in an unhygienic environment at different designated slaughters-houses controlled by the DCC at several places in the capital.
Those houses can hardly accommodate thirty per cent of the cows to be slaughtered.
Besides, the cows being slaughtered at midnight have been causing hurdles to the DCC officials to visit those slaughter houses as the organisation has insufficient vehicles for the officials.
So it gives scope to the butcher to slaughter Anthrax infected cows, sources said.
The supplies of water and power in the slaughter houses of DCC are not sufficient. The insufficient places to dump unusable parts of the slaughtered cows in a risky environment.
Visiting different kitchen markets at Captain Bazar, Karwan Bazar, Fakirapool , New Market, Khilgaon and Malibagh, the correspondents found a sharp fall in selling of beef.
Though the sale of beef has fallen notably yesterday in comparison to the previous weeks, the price is still remained high, traders said.
They claimed that they were selling beef which was not infected with Anthrax.
Admitting the fall of volume of their sale, they said there was no possibility of declining the price as the number of customers would rise before Eid-ul- Fitr.
Meanwhile, the BBC Bengali service yesterday night said, even after the claim by the government that the Anthrax was its under control, the number of the people infected by Anthrax reached 298 from 213 in the last one week in different districts of the country.
“The government is laying emphasis on creating mass awareness to prevent people from buying and eating infected cows meat, ” said Dr Mahmudur Rahman, Director of Institution of Epidemiology Disease and Research Centre.
