Another ANTHRAX Happening.....
Anthrax confirmed in dead cow in northeast Colo.
Published 8:46 p.m., Wednesday, August 8, 2012
DENVER
(AP) — A cow that died in northeast Colorado's Logan County had
anthrax, and about 50 other cattle that died at the same ranch in the
last several days were likely exposed to the disease, the Colorado Department of Agriculture said Wednesday.
Seven
people, including a veterinarian and ranch workers who had direct
contact with the cattle, were potentially exposed and will be treated
with antibiotics, health officials said. None has shown symptoms of
infection so far, said Dr. Tony Cappello of the Northeast Colorado Health Department.
"Anthrax is not spread person to person, so there's no concern this will spread to the general population," Cappello said.
The
ranch, which state agriculture officials would not identify, has been
quarantined, and the remaining cows were being vaccinated. No cattle
left the ranch before the quarantine, state veterinarian Keith Roehr said.
"None went to public exhibition or market or slaughter, so we know the food supply is safe," Roehr said.
He
estimated the ranch has about 500 mother cows and an unknown number of
calves. Test results this week confirmed one of the ranch's dead cows
had anthrax, Roehr said.
Anthrax
commonly affects hoofed animals and is caused by a bacterium that forms
spores that can become active in drought or floods. People can be
infected by ingesting or breathing in spores or by coming in contact
with infected animals, soil or water. The disease can be treated with
antibiotics if it is caught early.
Health
officials were telling firefighters, state troopers and hazardous
material teams in northeast Colorado how to protect themselves if they
work near the affected ranch.
Roehr said the anthrax case is the first in Colorado in 31 years, but outbreaks have occasionally happened in the western U.S.
In
2001, a person who sent anthrax-laced letters to media and government
offices infected five people who died and 17 others who were sickened.
Symptoms
in humans vary depending on the type of anthrax, but people may develop
small sores that turn into skin ulcers with a black center. Most people
survive the most common cutaneous form of anthrax, according to health
officials, but about half the cases of inhalation anthrax, whose
symptoms are similar to those of the cold or flu, can end in death.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Anthrax-confirmed-in...
Question Closed
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/p...
I don't think everyone should run out and become vegetarian, but we really should start looking at how much beef we consume.
Bacillus anthracis bacteria are highly effective at causing disease because of several factors:
1. Highly resistant, infectious spores that are capable of surviving outside of the host may be produced
2. Toxins are released in the blood of the host organism while the bacteria are undergoing rapid reproduction, making it highly infectious to mammals through transmission by flies and mosquitoes.
Mammalian herbivores are generally more susceptible than carnivores. A classic sign of death by anthrax in quadrupeds is the legs are often found in the "saw-horse" position.
While many may prefer their steaks to be medium-rare, it is far safer to eat meats cooked well-done.