Bushenyi District Confirms Anthrax Outbreak, One Death Reported

Health officials in Bushenyi district have confirmed an outbreak of anthrax disease after it claimed one person last week. Dr. Roberts Natukunda, the Bushenyi district Veterinary Officer, says that samples taken from five people suspected of eating a dead cow and sent to Entebbe tested positive for anthrax.
The deceased and the other positive cases are residents of Kitagata in Kyeizooba Sub-county.
Natukunda says people have started developing symptoms similar to anthrax following the death of one person amidst a protest of residents accusing others of bewitching them. He urged people to seek medical treatment instead of attributing their illness to witchcraft.
Victor Bakikunde, the chairman of the LC3 for Kyeizooba Sub-county, says that before the case was confirmed as anthrax, there were suspicions within the community that the illness was a result of witchcraft.
Bakikunde says since the confirmation, calm has returned to the villages, and others are now seeking medical attention.
Natukunda says that they are planning a quarantine and have ordered vaccines from the government to administer to all animals to curb the spread of the disease.
Anthrax is a serious infectious disease caused by the gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax can be found naturally in soil and commonly affects both domestic and wild animals. In humans, it presents with skin sores and vomiting.