Anthrax alert issued in Mukdahan's Don Tarn, cattle slaughter banned

Livestock officials in Thailand’s northeastern province of Mukdahan have begun the mass vaccination of cattle and goats in Don Tarn district, after one person died of an anthrax infection at the provincial hospital yesterday.

Don Tarn district chief officer, Chakrit Chumchan, said today that he has ordered cattle farmers in the district to stop slaughtering cattle for three weeks over the annual pre-monsoon season Boon Bung Fai (rocket) festival.

Temporary anthrax prevention centres have been set up at district and sub-district hospitals, he added.

Public health volunteers have been instructed to make house-to-house visits in their communities, to warn people about anthrax and to find out if anyone might be infected. Checkpoints have also been set up, to prevent the movement of cattle and goats in and out of the district.

Chakrit disclosed that the person who died in Lao Mee sub-district is reported to have eaten beef from an infected cow on April 27th. He soon fell ill and was taken to the Don Tarn district hospital, adding that, as his condition deteriorated, he was transferred to the provincial hospital.

Anthrax is usually caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis and is transmitted from infected animals, such as cattle, goats and sheep, to humans through contact with the sick animals or by eating their meat, especially raw meat. The disease can also be transmitted through the inhaling of the airborne spores.