Koraput (Orissa), July 16: Six persons were suspected to have been affected by anthrax in the last two days in Orissa's Koraput district, about a month after three anthrax deaths in the district, official sources said today. All the six affected, who had consumed meat of dead animals, were admitted to the Dasmantapur public health centre in critical condition after they developed symptoms of abnormal swelling all over their bodies, the sources said here.
A medical team was sent to the village and antibiotics were being administered to the patients, chief district medical officer (CDMO), Dr M R Sahu said. Medicines were also being distributed as a preventive measure to check spread of the disease to other villages, Sahu said. The chief district veterinary officer (CDVO) krushna chandra patra visited the village yesterday to assess the ground realities and confirmed that all the affected persons had consumed meat of dead animals.
However, veterinary officials were unable to explain how the disease, suspected to be anthrax, could have spread in the village despite ongoing vaccination drive in all the blocks of the district. About a month ago, three persons had died and 25 others affected by anthrax in Lamtaput block of the district.
An expert team from the national institute of communicable disease headed by joint director Dr D Bhattacharya had visited the affected Lamtaput block. Bureau Report