Anthrax outbreak under control

2005-08-08 11:04

Beijing - China has brought under control an outbreak of anthrax that killed one person and infected 11 others in the northeastern province of Liaoning, state media reported on Monday.

The outbreak was discovered on July 29 in farms in two villages in the Damintun area of Shenyang city, the Liaoning health department said.

But by Sunday, no new cases had been reported for seven consecutive days, prompting Sun Baijun, deputy director of the Disease Control Centre of Shenyang, to declare it was controlled, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Local people's life is back to normal," said Sun.

The 11 suffering anthrax after coming into contact with infected cows remained in quarantine although they were recovering, he added.

The report said the provincial health department had disinfected the disease-stricken areas and more than 600 head of livestock were slaughtered.

While anthrax usually occurs in animals, it can also occur in humans when they are exposed to infected animals or tissue from those animals.

The disease occurs in many parts of the world, including Southern and Central America, Asia, Africa and Southern and Eastern Europe.

Symptoms include inflammation of the skin, severe breathing problems, shock, nausea, vomiting and fever. It is not transmitted from human to human.

- AFP