Watch out for anthrax, farmers told
15 October 2001
Watch out for anthrax, farmers told
By Adrienne Francis
VETS and farmers have been asked to watch out for signs of anthrax among grazing livestock as fears grow of a terrorist attack in Britain.
The Public Health Laboratory Service has issued advice calling for co-operation between vets and doctors to detect any anthrax outbreak.
Farm animals such as cows, sheep and goats are more susceptible to anthrax than humans and have a shorter incubation period.
“Confirmed and suspected cases of anthrax in animals may provide an early warning system,” says a document issued by the department at the weekend.
The laboratory service said anthrax was a rare disease in Britain, with less than one case a year on average over the past 20 years.
These cases have resulted mainly from the handling of hides imported from countries where the disease is endemic, it added.
According to The Times, a co-ordinated animal bio-terrorism campaign would only be effective if anthrax spores were spread through the air.
Government chief medical officer Professor Liam Donaldson said: “I think we have to now be prepared over the future to think the unthinkable.”