Anthrax Blamed for Deaths of 8 Afghans
Pastor Dale Morgan
Anthrax Blamed for Deaths of 8 Afghans*
By JASON STRAZIUSO
The Associated Press
Saturday, December 29, 2007; 11:08 AM
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Eight Afghans who ate an infected camel as part of
a religious celebration died of what health experts suspect is a rare
case of naturally occurring anthrax, officials said Saturday.
The deaths, in the southwestern province of Nimroz, included two women
and an infant, said Dr. Abdullah Fahim, an adviser to Afghanistan's
health minister. Ten others fell sick.
Officials cannot say positively that the deaths were anthrax related
until laboratory results _ expected in the next two days _ are
completed, said Fahim.
The outbreak began when two men in a remote area of southwest
Afghanistan along the border with Iran tried to sell a sick camel, said
Ghulam Dastagir Azad, the governor of Nimroz province.
Nobody bought the camel and the men instead killed it and distributed
the meat to needy families, as is the custom during the Muslim holiday
of Eid al-Adha.
The two men "were the first victims. They cooked the meat and 12 hours
later they were dead," said Azad. "Then some of the families who cooked
(the meat) in their homes became victims."
Anthrax _ an acute infectious disease caused by a spore-forming
bacterium _ occurs in wild and domestic animals like cattle, sheep,
goats and camels, according to the U.S.-based Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
It can also occur in humans when they are exposed to infected animals,
or when anthrax spores are used as a weapon.
Fahim said there is no evidence to suggest terrorism played any part in
the outbreak.
___
Associated Press writer Rahim Faiez contributed to this report.