Suspected anthrax breaks out in Kalabo
By Staff Reporter
Supected Anthrax and Blackleg have broken out in Sihole area in Kalabo district, Western Province.
ZANIS reports that Kalabo District Livestock Coordinator Benard Chibwana disclosed the development but could not state the extent of the problem or the number of animals affected so far.
He observed that cattle were at risk of contracting such diseases due to the drought situation which was making animals graze the surface as there were no good pastures in the area.
Anthrax is a deadly bacterial disease of bovine animals and can be transmitted to humans, causing severe skin ulceration or a form of pneumonia once infected.
The disease is spread by contact with spores of the bacterium Bacillus Anthracis which often appears in infectious animal products.
Blackleg is however a generally fatal bacterial cattle disease which causes acute inflammation of muscle tissues due to growth of the blackleg organism.
