Anthrax is a deadly disease whose outbreak has been all over the news in the last few weeks.
Nigeria reported its first anthrax outbreak on Monday, July 16. The disease was detected in some livestock in Niger state.
Despite the severity of this condition, it has been discovered that many people know little or nothing about it.
READ ALSO: Nigeria at high risk of anthrax outbreak, FG warns
Anthrax is caused by a bacterium called Bacillus anthracis that occurs naturally in soil.
This bacteria can stay inactive in the soil as spores for a long time and come up to the surface of the soil when it rains or the soil is tilled.
When these spores come up to the surface and are eaten by animals, they cause an outbreak.
Anthrax is not contagious, which means that unlike COVID-19, it cannot pass from person to person by mere contact.
Anthrax can be contracted when people come in contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products, or when their wounds get in contact with the spores.
Those who are at high risk of getting the disease are veterinarians, agricultural workers, livestock producers and butchers.
Eating raw or undercooked meat from an infected animal or drinking contaminated water can cause the disease.
The disease can also spread through the air, where the spores are inhaled, which can happen in places like slaughterhouses and tanneries.
More on Anthrax
When anthrax spores get inside the body, the bacterium goes from inactive form to the active form and spreads through the body, producing toxins.
Symptoms of cutaneous anthrax vary depending on how it was contracted: blisters and sores on the skin, chest pains, shortness of breath and cough, swelling of the neck, sore throat, bloody vomiting or diarrhea.
Without treatment, up to 40% of people with anthrax will die. However, treatment can save 60% of people.
Anthrax spores can be produced in a lab. These spores can be made into powders, sprays or dissolved into water or food, and cannot be detected through smell or taste.
The disease has been used as a weapon around the world for nearly a century and was used in both World Wars.
The standard treatment for anthrax is antibiotics which will be administered by a healthcare provider.
There is an anthrax vaccine which can be given as a preventive measure for people who have a high risk of contracting it.
READ ALSO: FG warns Nigerians to stop eating ‘ponmo’, bushmeat
FG warns Nigerians to stop eating ponmo
Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development cautioned Nigerians to stop eating hides (Ponmo), bush meat, and smoked meat because of the outbreak of a disease called Anthrax in some neighboring countries.
In the statement signed by Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigerians should stay away from these meats for now.
According to Umakhihe, Nigerians need to be warned because the disease has currently spread in Northern Ghana bordering Burkina Faso and Togo.
