Nigeria may have reported index instances of anthrax, a bacterial disease that may infect humans and afflict both domestic and wild animals.
The Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria, Columba Vakuru, signed a statement on Monday from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Animals exhibiting symptoms of a potential case of anthrax on a farm in Suleja, Niger State, were reportedly reported to Mr. Vakuru’s office on July 14.
“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.” Part of the statement read.
About Anthrax and how it spreads to humans and livestock
Experts have highlighted that anthrax outbreaks are relatively common worldwide and tend to predominantly affect agricultural workers.
Human contraction of the disease occurs through the handling of animal products, such as wool, hide, or bone, from animals infected with the anthrax bacterium, as reported by NAN.
Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The bacteria typically reside in the soil and primarily infect wild and domestic animals, including goats, cattle, and sheep.
According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), individuals with pulmonary anthrax are at high risk of experiencing respiratory collapse and have the highest mortality rate among all anthrax cases, with 92 percent resulting in death.
The CDC also states that the gastrointestinal form of anthrax, which occurs when a person consumes the meat of an animal infected with anthrax, represents a third manifestation of the disease.
“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 information provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the most prevalent form of anthrax, known as cutaneous anthrax, is typically acquired when bacterial spores enter the body through a cut or abrasion in the skin.
Among the three forms of anthrax—cutaneous, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal—cutaneous anthrax is considered the easiest to treat using antibiotics.
Anthrax can also be contracted by inhaling the bacteria into the respiratory tract, a method known as pulmonary infection. This type of infection is more common among individuals involved in the processing of wool and animal hides.
The United States experienced an anthrax scare in September 2001 when letters containing anthrax spores were sent to various news media offices and politicians, resulting in five deaths and 17 additional infections.
Additionally, in October 2014, an outbreak of gastrointestinal and cutaneous anthrax in a village in Jharkhand, India, reportedly claimed the lives of seven individuals. In July 2016, nearly 100 people from nomadic communities in northern Siberia were hospitalized with the disease.