ZIMBABWE: Anthrax outbreak continues
Three people have died and close to 200 have been infected by an outbreak of
anthrax as Zimbabwe struggles to contain the disease, which affects both humans
and cattle.
The outbreak, at present confined to the southeastern province of
Masvingo, has so far affected 191 people and caused the deaths of more
than 60 head of cattle since it emerged last month.
Masvingo provincial medical director, Tapiwa Magure, said the largest
number of people affected was recorded last week with 50 new infections.
"The number of cases of anthrax affecting people continues to rise at
alarming levels. We are also concerned about the effect it is having on
livestock," he was quoted as saying.
The causative agent of anthrax is the bacterium, bacillus anthracis,
the
spores of which can survive in the environment for years. Humans generally
acquire the disease directly or indirectly from infected animals. Control
in livestock is therefore the key to reduced incidence, according to the
World Health Organisation.
The veterinary services department had launched a vaccination exercise in
the province to try and contain the disease, while awareness campaigns had been
launched. "We have dispatched more officials to Bikita, the hardest hit
district in the province, to try and contain the disease," Magure
said.
Zimbabwe's lack of foreign exchange to buy the vaccines had hampered the
government's efforts to control anthrax, as well as an epidemic of
foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that was threatening the country's beef
industry. Lucrative beef exports to the European Union were suspended in
2001 after the first signs of a serious FMD outbreak.
Agriculture minister Joseph Made and the director of veterinary services
have reportedly travelled to Iran to source anthrax and FMD vaccines.
The outbreaks have been linked to the uncontrolled movement of cattle by
new settlers benefiting from the government's land redistribution
programme.
"There is no way cattle diseases can fail to thrive when cattle are
being
moved without permits from one part of the country to another," said a
senior official in the veterinary department, who preferred anonymity. - IRIN
More information:
[This Item may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003]
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