December 28, 2007

 

Anthrax outbreak in New South Wales

 

 

An outbreak of anthrax in the New South Wales (NSW) Hunter Valley has already slaughtered 20 cattle as the deadly disease has been detected on three farms at Rouchel, near Scone.

 

Since Christmas Eve, farmer Keith Miles already lost 15 of his herd of 370 cattle on the Rouchel farm.

 

He said his property Bingeberry was "not in an anthrax zone, so this was completely out of the blue." Authorities are yet to determine the number of animals that have died on the other properties but believe at least five more cattle have perished.

 

The NSW Department of Primary Industries said up to six naturally occurring anthrax outbreaks were expected in NSW every year, but they generally occurred within a known area in the state's west.

 

Fifield said vaccination teams from the state's west had been dispatched to the Rouchel properties and a containment program is already being rolled out.

 

Anthrax is a bacterial infection that if untreated can be deadly in animals and humans. Since 1982, there have been only three reported cases of people in NSW contracting anthrax.

 

However, NSW deputy chief veterinary officer Ian Roth warned there could be another outbreak during summer because of recent heavy rains, which contribute to the spread of the disease to livestock.

 

Anthrax is often caused by old animal bones that have been exposed by ploughing or strong rain. Roth said it can stay in the soil for decades because the bacteria that causes it is highly resistant.

 

Anthrax manifests as soil-borne spores of bacteria that thrive at sites where animals have previously died from the disease.

 

Miles believed his cattle contracted the disease through eating grass that had grown over a previously affected carcass.