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After finding several carcasses of wild boar, Kerala health officials confirmed the presence of anthrax
What is Anthrax?
- Anthrax, also known as malignant pustule or woolsorter’s disease.
- It is a serious infectious disease caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis.
- It occurs naturally in soil and commonly affects domestic and wild animals around the world.
- Transmission
- It is a zoonotic disease, meaning that it is naturally transmissible from animals (usually vertebrae) to humans.
- People can get the disease through contact with infected animals or animal products that are contaminated with bacteria.
- It is generally regarded as non-contagious.
- There have been instances of person-to-person transmission, however, such instances are extremely rare.
- Occurrence in India
- It has usually been found in India’s southern states and is less frequently found in the northern states.
- Over the past years, it has been reported in Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Orissa and Karnataka.
- It has usually been found in India’s southern states and is less frequently found in the northern states.
- Treatment
- Antibiotic therapy that is administered early in the course of the infection has been proven to be responsive.
- Penicillin has long been the antibiotic of choice and in recent years, ciprofloxacin and doxycycline have also been used as alternatives.
- One way to prevent the disease is by vaccination of livestock so that the disease cannot spread.
- There are also vaccines for humans, but their availability is usually restricted to at-risk individuals, such as lab workers and people who handle animals.
Source:IE
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