Human anthrax cases confirmed in Kyrgyzstan

Au Kyrgyzstan4 cases of cutaneous anthrax were confirmed in the district of Kara-Bura, province of Talas.
On July 11, 2022, a couple from the village of Sheker (Kok-Sai) who had slaughtered an apparently sick cow 10 days before, consulted at the hospital for fever and ulcers. Two other villagers were taken to hospital after coming into contact with the meat of slaughtered cattle, they had ulcers on their hands. The 4 patients remaining at the district hospital have tested positive for anthrax.

In addition, 53 people who had contact with the hospitalized patients were placed under observation.

Reminders on the coal :

The coal (anthrax in English) is a bacterial disease that primarily affects livestock. The infectious agent of anthrax is the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, the spores of which can survive for several years or even decades in the soil, before being ingested by grazing animals. In humans, accidental hosts, transmission occurs directly or indirectly from infected animals, or through occupational exposure to contaminated animal products.

In humans, anthrax manifests itself in 3 different forms:

• The cutaneous form (at least 95% of cases recorded in humans), contracted by entry of spores at the level of a cut or an excoriation. It manifests as an insect bite, then evolves into a vesicle and then an ulcer 1 to 3 cm in diameter, with blackening necrosis in the center, and can progress to sepsis. It is fatal in 20% of cases in the absence of treatment.
• The intestinal form, contracted following the ingestion of contaminated food, mainly meat. It is manifested by the onset of nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, fever followed by abdominal pain and severe diarrhea. It is fatal in 25 to 60% of cases.
• The pulmonary form, due to inhalation of airborne spores. It appears initially as a common cold, but evolves in a few days with the appearance of significant respiratory disorders, with cough, headaches, muscle pain, which worsen and evolve into septic shock. This form of anthrax is almost always fatal if left untreated.

Source : ProMED.