An anthrax outbreak in Ghana has already left one person dead and at least eleven others infected. The cases were recorded in the Binduri district, in the Upper East region of the African country.
As confirmed by the Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Emmanuel Kofi Dzotsi, the outbreak began because "the victims consumed the carcasses of cattle infected with this disease."
"On June 1, 2023, the Regional Health Directorate received a notification, with the detection of two cases of anthrax, recording one death in the Binduri district, after the consumption of dead cattle," explained Dzotsi, to the local media Ghana News Business , cited by the Europa Press agency . And he added that "a total of four cattle died in the affected community."
Now there are eleven confirmed, but there could be more. "We urge districts to manage suspected cases with ’ciprofloxacin and doxycycline’ and use risk communication to sensitize communities," added the Ghanaian doctor.
"Members of each community must commit to desist from eating cattle that have died of unknown causes and appropriate links must be established with the Veterinary Service in each district, for holistic control of the disease," Dzotsi emphasized.
The bacterial disease anthrax is rare but serious and can be found naturally in soil, affecting pets and wild animals around the world.
Although it is not common, people can contract it if they are in contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products, as is the case with the outbreak in Binduri district.
Humans can contract it through contact with an infected animal, or by inhaling the structures, which contain the genetic material of bacteria, which resist for long periods.
