April 3, 2024
VIENTIANE – The Soukhouma district health office in Champassak province has issued a warning to local residents after 54 people in Soukhouma and a neighbouring district fell ill with anthrax last month.
In support of the warning, Deputy Director of the Champassak provincial Health Department, Dr Nanthasane Voravong, told reporters that local media and public health authorities were urging everyone to collaborate with the relevant agencies to investigate the source of the bacterial infection.
It is believed that villagers became ill after eating meat from cattle that died for unknown reasons but were in fact infected with anthrax.
To prevent the spread of anthrax, high-risk areas will be zoned off and certain abattoirs have been banned from slaughtering cattle and buffalo.
It is also forbidden to kill sick animals without knowing the cause of their illness because this could cause pathogens to spread in local communities.
Anthrax affects warm-blooded animals and is common in livestock, but is rare in humans, Dr Nanthasone said. The bacterium can produce spores, helping it to survive in the natural environment but livestock can be protected through vaccination.
People with pets should also keep a close watch on them for signs of illness and if any disease is suspected this should immediately be reported to a village veterinarian, he added.
The Ministry of Health’s Department of Communicable Diseases Control has ordered health officials and local authorities across the country to be on the alert for more cases of anthrax.
In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has instructed authorities to monitor the butchering and consumption of meat in Soukhouma district and to disinfect all areas where cases were detected.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture and Forestry Office in Soukhouma district has banned the purchase and sale of animals as well as the movement of livestock in and out of the district’s main urban centre.