Published Date: 2008-07-26 14:00:32
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Anthrax, bovine - USA (04): (SD)
Archive Number: 20080726.2280
ANTHRAX, BOVINE - USA (04): (SOUTH DAKOTA)
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: Fri 25 Jul 2008
Source: The Daily Republic [edited]
<http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/articles/index.cfm?id=28138>
Lab tests confirm 2nd anthrax case
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State Veterinarian Sam Holland said Thursday [24 Jul 2008] that lab
tests have positively confirmed a 2nd case [outbreak] of anthrax in
Hutchinson County, South Dakota. The cases are not alarming, said
Holland, but are a cause for concern. "We see anthrax almost every
year in some part of the state and we never know where (it will crop
up). Some years, we've seen it in 3 corners of the state in the same
week."
Holland said the disease, which can occur in both humid or drought
conditions, is difficult to predict. "We can see it under normal
conditions or in cases where soil is disrupted to put in a water
line," he said, explaining that the digging can expose dangerous
anthrax spores that have stayed dormant in the soil.
The state had only 2 case of anthrax in 2007, one in Brown County and
another in Brule County. Holland said there were 57 cases in 2005.
"There were hundreds and hundreds of animals lost [that year]," he
said. [There were some 57 ranches with cases and literally hundreds of
dead animals on those 57 ranches. There were some 200 dead bison
recorded on the index rodeo ranch and as a result outbreaks followed
in some 13 counties to the NW, NE, and south. - Mod.MHJ]
Anthrax vaccines are effective, said Holland, and animal vaccination
is recommended.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Brent Barrett
[It is a constant but sometimes unexpected aspect of an enzootic
disease that when control is effective and one is truely down to just
a few sporadic cases, that is when the uncommon modes of transmission
are perceived. This is logical because control programmes are most
cost effectively directed at the commonest modes of spread. This is
effective but it does not impact on the uncommon modes which then
claim attention, and the control programme must be adjusted to deal with them.
In the UK in the last months of the successful swine fever
eradication programme, that was when we saw piglets with congenital
neurological signs; "we" being Jack Done and David Harding of the
Pathology and Epidemiology Dept, Weybridge. This otherwise
apathogenic SF virus had been there with affected piglets all along
but it was missed in the excitement of eradication. Similarly with
anthrax. When the routine summer cases become infrequent to rare,
that is when one "sees" outbreaks following earth moving and pasture
discing, and the disturbance of old cattle graves. Seeing them is a
good sign as it reflects alertness and the promise that the disease
may be disappearing, hopefully sooner rather than later. The bad news
is that these earth moving activities can initiate the occasional
outbreak for some 10 to 20 years but eventually the spores die and
they silently stop. - Mod.MHJ]
[A map of South Dakota is available at:
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/southdakota_90.jpg> -
CopyEd.EJP]
See Also
Anthrax, bovine - USA (03): (SD) 20080724.2257Anthrax, bovine - USA (02): (ND) 20080626.1968
Anthrax, bovine - USA: (MN) 20080423.1431
2007
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Anthrax, bovine - USA (SD) (02): severe heat stress 20070727.2427
Anthrax, bovine - USA (SD) 20070426.1363
2006
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Anthrax, bison, bovine - USA (SD)(02) 20060817.2300
Anthrax, bison, bovine - USA (SD) 20060724.2044
2005
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Anthrax, bison, bovine - USA (SD)(03) 20050817.2412
Anthrax, bison, bovine - USA (SD)(02) 20050729.2211
Anthrax, bison, bovine - USA (SD) 20050724.2130
2004
----
Anthrax, bovine - USA (SD) 20040731.2090
2003
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Anthrax, cattle - USA (SD) (02) 20030911.2287
....................jw/mhj/ejp/jw
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