Fresh cases reported

As many as 18 fresh cases of anthrax infection have been detected at Gilabari village of Aditmari upazila in Lalmonirhat district yesterday.
With this, the district has so far witnessed 94 anthrax-infected people, confirmed the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR).
A total of 60 patients of the district have been cured and the rest are being treated in upazila health complex and in their houses, said a source from Lalmonirhat sadar health complex.
According to IEDCR, a total of 520 people contracted anthrax between August 18 and September 16 this year. More than half the patients have been cured so far.
Meanwhile, 30 more people are feared to have infected with anthrax at Kamalnagar upazila in Lakshmipur district on Friday and Saturday. Based on the symptoms, the acting district civil surgeon has started administering medicine.
This is the second time in the country that humans are infected with anthrax although the disease is not new to cattle. IEDCR records show that the first human infection occurred in the country in August last year. A total of 35 people in Sathia and Pabna contracted the disease at that time.
IEDCR virologist ASM Alamgir said, "The lifestyle of people may be the reason behind the anthrax outbreak. People in our country slaughter sick cattle and eat the meat to save money of recover losses. Poverty and lack of awareness is responsible for this and the poor are the usual sufferers."
He said those who are farming on a limited scale often do not bother going to the local livestock office to vaccinate their cattle although it is very cheap. These farmers rather feed the cattle with steroid to make them flabby, which weakens their immune system and make the cattle vulnerable to anthrax.