September 28, 2010

Bangladesh gears up anthrax-fighting efforts

Bangladesh's government says it has stepped up effort to combat a major outbreak of anthrax that has infected hundreds of people and threatens to wreak havoc on the country's beef industry.

A high-level government committee tasked with containing the outbreak before the mid-November Muslim festival of Eid al-Azha, traditionally celebrated with the mass slaughter of animals, has been formed.

"We are launching a major counter-attack on the outbreak to bring it under control before Eid al-Azha. We will vaccinate all at-risk cattle," livestock minister Abdul Latif Biswas, who is head of the committee, said.

He called on the public not to panic, saying eating beef was safe.

More than 600 people have been infected by anthrax as it spreads further from its source in Bangladesh's dairy belt, with 12 districts confirming outbreaks in humans and cattle.

Hundreds of cows have been infected and scores have died but no humans have perished as all reported infections are cutaneous.

However, last week thousands of shops selling beef in the capital Dhaka were deserted as panicked consumers turned their backs on red meat - with sales down more than 90% since the outbreak began mid-August.

"We used to slaughter 5,000 cows a day in Dhaka, but now we slaughtered less than 100," said the head of the country's meat traders' association Rabiul Alam.

Unless the outbreak was brought under control and the public's confidence in beef restored ahead of Eid-al Azha, it could seriously damage the cattle industry, which contributes about 5% to gross domestic product, he added.

The spread of the outbreak has been fuelled by farmers slaughtering diseased cows then selling the meat, officials said.