Vigilance by the anthrax outbreak – Göteborgs-Posten

susceptible to anthrax are cattle, sheep and goats. Those infected usually die within 48 hours. Stock Photography. Photo: Henrik Montgomery

Sweden After the anthrax outbreak in Östergötland last week urged those who move in the area to sound the alarm about the dead animals found in nature. Agriculture has activated its crisis organization and contact tracing is ongoing.

– Anthrax is a serious disease, especially for cattle, says Katharina Gielen at the Swedish Board of Agriculture’s animal welfare and health.

The holiday has to wait for her, then a total of four dead cattle found in two different pastures on Omberg in Östergötland. The animals from the affected farms have been vaccinated and kept under surveillance. The incubation period is 14 days, so it is not unlikely that more animals found to be infected.

The places where animal carcasses were handled decontaminated and those who have taken care of the animals checked by a doctor. It is also important to keep an eye on the wildlife in the area.

– We are keen to report to us if you find wild dead animals, particularly ruminants such as elk and deer, says Katharina Gielen.

White powder

Anthrax always raises headlines as the disease associated with the white powder in the letter. But there is a big difference in natural anthrax and the spores that can be used for lethal disease transmission through the post, says epidemiologist Gunilla Hallgren at the National Veterinary Institute (SVA).

– this is natural anthrax. It is not transmitted at all the same as the specially prepared spores, which are in powder letter. They are prepared so that they will fly in the air, which then allows them to be inhaled by humans, she says.

Natural anthrax is spread primarily by direct contact with body fluids flowing from the affected animal.

buried

Until the 1960s, anthrax common in Sweden and animals who had died of the disease used to be buried out in the fields. Because spores can live up to 100 years, there is always a risk that spores from old graves can begin to spread again if they are dug up.

Around Omberg has been the anthrax outbreak in the 1900s, but Katharina Gielen describes contact tracing as complex.

– If we will be able to say that “this is the source of infection”, it is impossible to say at present.

The Facts: Dangerous for cows, sheep and goats

sensitive to anthrax is cattle, sheep and goats. Those infected usually die within 48 hours.

People can become infected by anthrax, but it is extremely rare in Sweden. Although dogs and cats are relatively resistant.

The disease is caused by a spore-forming bacterium. The spores can survive very long in the earth. Because anthrax earlier was a common disease and animals that had died of the disease used to be buried, all known farms with anthrax 1916-1961 mapped. Around these farms should be extra precautions taken during excavation work. The problem is that we do not know exactly where the animals are buried, just around the farms.

In a terrorist attack in the United States in 2001 was spread anthrax spores in powder form by mail and of the eleven people who then were infected through inhalation died five. The kind of spores that can be used in this way are specially prepared and much more dangerous than natural anthrax.

Sources: Swedish Board of Agriculture, the National Encyclopedia, National Veterinary Institute.