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| Situation Update No. 1 Ref.no.: BH-20091227-24331-USA
Situation Update No. 1
On 2009-12-28 at 05:04:22 [UTC]
Event: Biological Hazard
Location: USA State of New Hampshire Concord Number of Infected: 1 person(s)
Situation: New media cited health officials of New Hampshire as saying that a resident in the state is now in critical condition due probably to gastrointestinal anthrax, a deadly infection. This is the first anthrax case reported in the state since 1957. The source of infection has not been identified although the New Hampshire Union Leader was cited as reporting on Saturday that the women was suspected to have contracted the potentially lethal infection at a drum circle at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. The monthly drum circle at United Campus Ministry was said to use African instruments that health officials suspect may carry naturally occurring spores of the pathogenic bacteria. Jose Montero, state public health director was cited as saying that the female patient came down with anthrax this month and was transferred to a Massachusetts hospital for treatment. New Hampshire is working with other state and federal agencies to find out the source of the anthrax case, Montero said. Gastrointestinal anthrax is relatively rare compared to the cutaneous form of anthrax which is more often reported. Some researchers believe that the rare incidence does not mean gastrointestinal anthrax is indeed rare though. Thira Sirisanthana and Arthur E. Brown in Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Science in Thailand reported in the July 2002 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases that "the apparently overwhelming predominance of the cutaneous form of anthrax is rather a reflection of the difficulty of diagnosis of the GI form" Anthrax results from exposure to Bacillus anthracis spores on either the skin or the mucosal surfaces of the gastrointestinal tract. The spores can be found in agricultural and industrial settings. |  | | | |
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