Anthrax outbreak hits Mutare

There has been an anthrax outbreak in Mutare and Vumba with confirmed cases at Leopard Rock and Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service(ZPCS)’s Mutare Prison Farm, which has been forced to temporarily close its abattoir.

SPCA’s Lynne James confirmed that all the animals at the ZPCS’s farm have been vaccinated and their horses are under quarantine until March 10.

Leopard Rock also has a suspected case of the disease.

Anthrax is a serious infectious bacteria disease caused by a germ known as Bacillus anthracis.

Although it is rare, people can get sick with anthrax if they come into contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products.

It is primarily a disease of herbivorous mammals, although other mammals and some birds have been known to contract it.

Until the introduction and widespread use of effective veterinary vaccines, it was a major cause of fatal diseases in cattle, sheep, goats, camels, horses, and pigs throughout the world.

“We also have plenty cattle wandering all over Vumba roads currently as well as a large number of baboons and I’m sure all of this makes management of the disease all the more difficult and urgent,” Sue Fenwick a Vumba resident said.DailyNews