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NEWS RELEASE Texas Animal Health Commission Box l2966 *Austin, Texas 78711 *(800) 550-8242* FAX (512) 719-0719 Linda Logan, DVM, PhD* Executive DirectorProducers in Area Urged to Vaccinate Two cases of anthrax have been confirmed in deer from Uvalde and Val Verde Counties in Southwest Texas, and livestock health officials are urging producers in the area to consult their private veterinary practitioners about vaccinating livestock against this disease that resurfaces periodically. Many long-time ranchers in the area have experienced sporadic outbreaks and routinely inoculate their livestock against this disease that is weather-dependent and can develop during warm spring and summer months. "Anthrax is caused by Bacillus anthracis, a spore-forming bacteria. The disease often occurs after we have periods of wet, cool weather followed by a several weeks of hot and dry conditions," explained Dr. Dan Baca, a veterinary epidemiologist with the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state's livestock health regulatory agency. "When livestock graze in an affected pasture, they can ingest the spores that are on the grass or ground. Historically, most of Texas' cases each year occur in a triangle bounded by Uvalde, Ozona and Eagle Pass." The triangular area takes in portions of Crockett, Val Verde, Sutton, Edwards, Kinney, Uvalde and Maverick counties. However, if conditions are right,cases could occur anywhere in Texas, stated Dr. Baca. In l997, cases were confirmed in Edwards, Val Verde, Terrell, Webb, Starr and Uvalde counties. An anthrax case in l997 also was confirmed in Parker County, in north Texas. Dr. Baca said ranches with confirmed cases are quarantined until at least 10 days after all livestock are vaccinated, and after proper disposal of all carcasses. "By halting the movement of animals, any livestock exposed or incubating the disease will not spread infection to other ranches," he said. "It's not unusual for one premise to have livestock losses, while livestock on an adjacent ranch remain healthy." Anthrax is a reportable disease in Texas. While laboratory tests, conducted by the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in College Station, are needed to confirm infection, Dr. Baca said that suspected cases also are to be reported to the TAHC at 1-800-550-8242. A veterinarian is available to take calls 24 hours a day. If outbreaks occur in dairy animals, Dr. Baca advised producers to call the TAHC immediately for assistance to prevent potential human exposure through milk products. Signs of the disease in livestock and deer can include sudden death, rapid bloating of the carcass, and blood oozing from body openings. "After alking with several ranchers, we're assuming a number of suspected cases occur each year, but are not reported," he said. To prevent contaminating the ground with anthrax spores which can remain dormant for years, Dr. Baca said TAHC regulations require that the property or livestock owner thoroughly burn carcasses of animals that may have died from anthrax. The animal's bedding, manure and the surrounding soil also should be burned. This keeps predators or wild pigs, coyotes or dogs from being exposed to the disease. Because anthrax strikes during dry periods, he said carcass disposal can pose its own dangers, so precautions must be taken to keep the fires from 'getting out of hand.' To avoid spreading spores, he said the TAHC recommends that carcasses be burned where they lay. Dr. Baca also advised producers to wear long sleeves and gloves when handling the carcasses or when working or vaccinating livestock to avoid contaminating any sores or scratches on arms or hands. General sanitation procedures should be followed after handling livestock, and equipment used on the animals should be disinfected. Pets should be kept away from dead carcasses. Bones of dead animals may also pose a disease threat. Healthy animals should be moved from anthrax-contaminated areas. "It is possible for ranchers to contract a skin form of anthrax, so if any wounds appear to be infected, see your physician for appropriate antibiotic treatment," he said. "Although movies and popular mythology portay anthrax as an invariably fatal human disease threat, the often fatal pulmonary form of the disease is nearly non-existent in developed countries. Producers may want to talk with their physician or contact the Texas Department of Health if they have human health questions." "Hunters often ask about anthrax, and by the time hunting season starts, cool weather usually puts an end to any cases," said Dr. Baca. "However, my best advice always is to shoot only healthy-looking animals. By the time an animal displays signs of anthrax that can include staggering, trembling or convulsions, death is inevitable." Dr. Baca said several steps need to be taken when anthrax occurs: 1. Properly dispose of animal carcasses by burning to prevent exposure to other animals, such as predators or dogs. Remove healthy livestock from the area. 2. Vaccinate livestock if cases occur in the surrounding areas. Because the anthrax vaccine is a "live" vaccine, it should not be administered concurrently with antibiotics. Vaccinated animals are to be withheld from slaughter for two months. 3. Restrict movement of livestock from an affected premise until animals can develop immunity through vaccination. 
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Officials say precautions against Texas Anthrax outbreak must be taken SAN ANTONIO (AP) - As a result of the second reported case of human anthrax infection, health officials are warning South Texas ranchers, hunters and vacationers to avoid contact with dead or sickly looking animals. Health officials learned late Friday of a second probable case of human anthrax exposure, both in Val Verde County ranch workers. Tests are still under way, but if confirmed, they would be the first human anthrax cases in Texas since 1988, said Julie Rawlings, an epidemiologist with the Texas Department of Health. Officials say there is little risk of the bacterial illness spreading more widely among people, despite a recent outbreak among livestock. ``The best advice now is that if anybody finds a carcass, they should leave it alone. This is not a good time to be out collecting bones or skulls,'' said Rick Taylor, a field biologist at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department's Uvalde office. Hundreds of deer, and several horses and cattle have died from probable anthrax disease in what health officials are describing as the worst outbreak in two decades. Confirmed cases have been reported in Val Verde and Uvalde counties, and likely animal deaths have been reported in Bandera, Edwards, Kinney and Real counties. ``I had one client (who) told me he had counted at least 50 on one ranch,'' said Dr. Cecil Arnim Jr., a Uvalde veterinarian. The people most likely to encounter infected animals should be familiar with safety precautions because anthrax is endemic to South Texas, Rawlings said. ``The ranchers and Parks & Wildlife employees should know the best way to deal with them is by burning them and to avoid any kind of direct contact,especially if they have any cuts on their skin where they might come in contact with the animals,'' Rawlings said. Anthrax is a bacteria sometimes used in biological warfare. It rapidly produces toxins that cause severe damage to the respiratory system and brain. Untreated patients usually die within days. Animals contract the disease by ingesting spores from the soil. Human exposure can result from an infected animal's blood or other bodily fluid getting into an exposed cut or abrasion. In humans, symptoms of the disease usually occur within seven days. Anthrax can cause respiratory failure and death within a week. Agricultural and wildlife officials said the outbreak already may be winding down and should be over by the time cooler weather and deer-hunting season arrive in the fall. From: ProMED-mail <promed@p... > and Karel Hruska <hruska@v...> Source: Reuters Online Date 6 Jun 2001 [edited] PRAGUE: On Wednesday, the Czech Republic said it suspected a 6-year-old cow on its territory had developed mad cow disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, BSE), arousing fears BSE may have spread beyond western Europe. "At this point, we can confirm the first suspicion of BSE in the Czech Republic," Czech Agriculture Ministry press official Hugo Roldan said. Roldan said the animal was from a herd in Dusejov village in the Jihlava region, 70 miles southeast of Prague. "This is the first test, it is necessary to confirm the first result, so we are sending the sample to a laboratory in Germany to confirm or refute our results," he added. BSE has spread in herds in Britain, France, and other west European countries, but until now has not been suspected in the Czech Republic or the east European region as a whole. In April the European Commission listed the Czech Republic as a country likely to present a BSE risk, because it had imported significant amounts of live cattle and meat-and-bone meal from EU countries where BSE has been confirmed. Scientists believe BSE is transmitted through infected meat-and-bone meal fed to cattle and may cause the fatal, brain-wasting variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in humans. More than 80 people in Britain have died of vCJD. The ministry said the cow came from a cooperative farm having 371 cows. Some 18 pregnant cows were in the affected stall. Pavel Kovar, of the ministry, said milk feed substitutes were being investigated as a possible cause of the case and added that bone meal had not been fed to the herd. "We are investigating if the contamination could have happened through feeding of milk feed substitutes in which milk fat was [replaced] by rendering-plant fat," Kovar said, adding that the mixtures were imported. "We know they (the affected farm) used the substitutes but must confirm it was at this time. It is after all, 6 years ago," he said. Roldan said officials would begin testing all cows older than 30 months if the tests confirm the case. So far Czech officials have conducted over 10 000 tests this year. The European Commission declined to comment on the Czech discovery until the results of further tests were known. On 3 Apr 2001 the European Commission listed the Czech Republic as a Category III country, which means it was "likely to present a BSE...risk, even if not confirmed, or presenting a low level of confirmed BSE risk." It based its assessment on the amount of live cattle and meat-and-bone meal imported into countries in question. Other countries listed in category III are Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Cyprus, Switzerland, and Albania. Switzerland is the only country outside the EU to have confirmed the presence of native cases of BSE. All the countries except Switzerland and Albania are candidates for EU membership. Czech officials had urged the EU to revise the list, dropping their country from it. The Czechs banned feeding all meat-and-bone meal to cattle in 1991 and Czech officials have said the country had not imported British bone meal, and did not feed meal from other countries to cattle because it was too expensive. The European Commission's category II country list, where a BSE risk is deemed to be unlikely but not excluded, contained the United States, Canada, India, Pakistan and Colombia. Category I countries -- deemed highly unlikely to contract the disease -- include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Norway, and New Zealand. PRAGUE: On Friday, the second test on a 6-year-old Czech cow suspected of having BSE) has proven positive, Agriculture Minister Jan Fencl said. "(A new test) confirmed the original finding," Fencl said, adding a further test to verify the results would be carried out in Germany. "I expect the result...from a laboratory in Germany by the middle of the next week," he said. Before this latest case -- which would be the first outside western Europe -- Czech officials had tested more than 10 000 animals this year and found no signs of the disease. Spot Ad Space Available 5.00 year
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