The 13 tribal people, including a one-year-old boy and a woman, from Panasapalli village in Hukumpeta mandal of Visakha Agency, who have been admitted to the King George Hospital here on Tuesday with cutaneous anthrax, are improving, Superintendent of KGH M. Madhusudhana Babu said on Wednesday.
Three more persons showing symptoms of anthrax from the same village will be shifted to KGH on Thursday, DMHO J. Sarojini told The Hindu . The cases were clinically confirmed during the tests done at the Microbiology Department of Andhra Medical College. A survey is on in the area to find out if there are more cases of anthrax.
“They are all stable and might be discharged in four or five days. Since it is cutaneous anthrax, there is no threat to life. There is a problem with pulmonary anthrax”, Dr. Babu said. He was informed that the victims had consumed meat of a dead goat and this must have contained spores of anthrax.
Team to study area
The village is under Uppa PHC. After coming to know of the incidence of anthrax, teams from the district epidemic cell and intensive health education wing were sent to the area to conduct survey and surveillance along with Additional DHMO’s team of Paderu and the local PHC staff, Dr. Sarojini said. The teams would also look for cases of pulmonary anthrax.
Nearly 15 head of cattle died suddenly in that area during the last few weeks, which is likely due to the cattle being infected by anthrax. Spores of anthrax in a dead animal would enter the human body through abrasions on the hands of persons cutting the animal and separating its parts, she explained.
This was the first incident after six years of several cases being reported from on place while one or two were reported during the last few years.
