By Anthrax has been certified by Kazo District officials to be occurring in Miramar Village, Kazo sub-county. This has sparked worries, especially among people whose livelihoods depend on the sale of animals and animal products.
The district production officer, John Baptist Asiimwe, disclosed that four of the seven samples that Entebbe tested turned out positive for the anthrax infection.
Asiimwe listed several steps that could be taken to stop the disease’s spread, such as registering all meat handlers in the area, making sure they have health certificates before handling meat, requiring cattle traders to have licenses from the Ministry of Animal Husbandry to purchase and sell animals in the district, and ring vaccination of all suspected animal species.
Asiimwe stated that to obtain vaccines for the vaccination of every animal in the district, they are working with ministry representatives in coordination.
The District Chairperson, Rev. Mugisha Katugunda, stressed the need to raise public awareness of the anthrax sickness. As a precaution, he advised against eating meat from deceased animals.
Kazo has been impacted by anthrax, along with Ibanda, Mbarara, and Kiruhura. As a result, quarantine measures have been put in place to stop the spread of the disease. Approximately five districts have implemented quarantine measures to stem the spread of Foot and Mouth disease, which is being battled alongside this Anthrax epidemic in the cattle corridor.
Bacillus anthracis, a bacteria that resembles spores and produces strong toxins that are toxic to both humans and animals, is the origin of the zoonotic disease anthrax. Although ruminants might pass away quickly with few symptoms, human symptoms usually start as elevated boil-like sores on the skin and a flu-like malaise.
How is anthrax spread?
Anthrax is usually spread in the form of a spore. (A spore is a dormant form that certain bacteria take when they have no food supply. Spores can grow and cause disease when better conditions are present, as in the human body.) Anthrax is generally spread in one of three ways. Most persons who are exposed to anthrax become ill within one week but can take as long as 42 days for inhalation of anthrax
WHAT HAPPENED, WHERE AND WHEN?
An anthrax outbreak was confirmed on 29th November 2023 in Kabira, Kasasa, and Lwankoni sub-counties in the Kyotera district.
According to the district surveillance team, Kyotera district anthrax possibly started in June 2023 on a farm in Kkyamayembe Sub-County following the consumption of the meat of a dead cow. The victims presented with various signs including itchy rash, swelling, and skin lesions. In early July, the first human death was reported, and 24 animal deaths by October 31, 2023. The consumption of meat of the dead animals continued and 3 humans developed signs of the disease.
On November 17th, 2023, the Kyotera district surveillance team in partnership with the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) conducted an eld investigation in the Kabira sub-county where the alerts were coming from. More samples were collected from several suspects, some of which tested positive leading to the national task force of the Ministry of Health to declare the Anthrax outbreak in Kyotera a disaster, on the 29th of November 2023.
Cumulatively as of 3rd December: 25 suspects, 7 probable cases, 16 confirmed (with 13 fatalities) and 3 recoveries had been reported. The suspects were in the isolation facilities and the cases were in the treatment facility some being managed under the home-based care program. Several deaths rose to 50, however, there is no information on the number of sick or suspected animals.
