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TUNCELI, Turkey, (Reuters) - Nearly three
dozen people have been diagnosed with anthrax
infection in eastern Turkey after eating
contaminated meat, prompting authorities to
quarantine their village, health officials said on
Friday.
A boy, 10, and his sister, 9, were in critical
condition, but there were no reports of deaths among
the 35 people who came down with anthrax in Cukurca
village in remote Bingol province, an official with
the Bingol health department told Reuters.
"Victims fell ill after coming into contact with
sick animals," he said.
Eleven people remained in hospital two days after
the outbreak began.
One resident told the state-run Anatolian news
agency around 85 sheep and goats had died in Cukurca
in the last week, but that the local veterinarian
had told villagers it was still safe to eat the
meat.
"Veterinarians are now inspecting both live and
slaughtered animals for signs of anthrax," the
Bingol health official said.
Authorities were combing butchers' shops and private
homes and had seized and had destroyed several
kilograms (pounds) of contaminated meat, he said. No
live animals were being allowed to enter or leave
Cukurca.
Anthrax is an acute, sometimes deadly, disease
caused by spore-forming bacteria. The spores can
survive for decades.
The spores are endemic in Turkey, especially in the
largely agrarian east, where hundreds of people have
contracted natural anthrax in recent years after
eating or handling infected meat.
Anthrax thrives in grazing livestock such as cattle,
goats and sheep, which can ingest the anthrax spores
from the soil.
Five people died in the United States in late 2001
after handling letters containing anthrax. Those
cases remain unsolved.
Turks ignore anthrax
warning, 7 more people infected
ISTANBUL, July 9 (Reuters) - Another seven
people in eastern Turkey have contracted anthrax
after eating contaminated meat in an outbreak that
has hit 42 people, but no fatalities have been
reported, officials said on Saturday.
Health authorities have quarantined the village of
Cukurca in Bingol province, where the outbreak began
earlier this week.
Thirteen people remain in hospital, including a
10-year-old boy and his sister, 9, who are in
critical condition, officials told the state-run
Anatolian news agency.
"Despite all of our warnings, we are receiving
information that the villagers are continuing to eat
contaminated meat," Bingol health director
Selahattin Saridag told Anatolian.
Authorities have combed butchers' shops and private
homes and destroyed contaminated meat, and no live
animals are being allowed to enter or leave Cukurca.
One resident said earlier this week that around 85
sheep and goats had died in Cukurca in recent days
but that the local veterinarian had assured
villagers it was still safe to eat the meat.
Anthrax is an acute, sometimes deadly, disease
caused by spore-forming bacteria that can survive
for decades.
The spores are endemic in Turkey, especially in the
largely agrarian east, where hundreds of people have
contracted natural anthrax in recent years after
eating or handling infected meat.
Anthrax thrives in grazing livestock such as cattle,
goats and sheep, which can ingest the anthrax spores
from the soil.
Reuters
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