Anthrax Alert Rattles 2 Bulgarian Villages

A shepherd from the village of Stefan Karadzhovo is listed at the hospital in the Bulgarian southern city of Yambol after being diagnosed with a form of skin anthrax, Darik radio reports Saturday.

Georgi Drosev, 47, became infected after slaughtering a sick sheep. He says no one ate meet and he discarded the carcass in a ravine near the village. Doctors report the man is in good condition and will be released next week.

The Veterinary Services have disinfected Drosev’s yard and the ravine while the entire area is under quarantine and domestic animals are being vaccinated.

Meanwhile, there are also suspicions of anthrax in the village of Brestovene, near the northern city of Razgrad where 5 sheep from the same herd died during the week. The 64-year-old owner and shepherd, Mehmed Ismail, and his 8-year-old grandson, Yozzhan, are showing signs of skin anthrax, doctors say. The Vet Services ordered the vaccination of all 1 200 sheep and 400 cattle in the village while the place where the sheep are kept had been treated with penicillin. Samples were sent to Sofia to be tested for anthrax.

Skin anthrax is transmitted from animals to people, but not from one person to another. The bacillus stays in the soil for 100 years.

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