RSOE EDIS - Situation Update No. 1 : Zimbabwe - Epidemic Hazard

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary RSOE EDIS ALERTMAIL

Situation Update No. 1 Posted:2009-12-26, 20:04:35 [UTC] Ref.no.: EH-20091226-24324-ZWE Situation Update No. 1 On 2009-12-29 at 04:54:47 [UTC] Event: Epidemic Hazard Location: Zimbabwe Mashonaland West Chegutu, Seke Number of Deads: 1 person(s) Situation: Anthrax is feared to be spreading in Zimbabwe as veterinary officials said on Monday they are testing a suspected case of the deadly disease from a rural growth point about 50 kilometers East of Harare. The suspected case followed an outbreak of the disease in central parts of the country last week, which killed one person and 25 cattle. Veterinary Services Department deputy director Chenjerai Njagu told Xinhua on Monday that the results of the suspected case from Juru Growth Point in Goromonzi district would be out on Tuesday. He said the area is one of the few districts which were left out during vaccination done at the beginning of the year. "We left out Goromonzi and Seke districts because of shortage of vaccines," said Njagu. "Now these are the areas giving us problems because we had not vaccinated them at the beginning of the year." The anthrax outbreak in Seke, some 40 km South-East of Harare, killed 18 cattle while one person and seven cattle succumbed to the disease which broke out last week in Selous, 60 km North-West of the capital. Njagu said the disease was dangerous as one case can kill several people who consume meat from an infected animal. He said the department would soon move into the affected areas to vaccinate cattle. The department vaccinated 1,100 cattle in Seke over the Christmas holiday but Njagu said the turn out was very low. "The turn out was low and we are going to repeat vaccination after the holiday," he said. Anthrax is a soil-borne disease which is endemic in Zimbabwe. It is normally recorded during the rainy season when sprouting grass brings out the bacteria from soil. Please DO NOT reply to this message: replies may be treated as errors and result in your subscription being deleted. If you have trouble or other queries, send email to havaria@rsoe.hu RSOE EDIS is operated by the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE), Budapest, Hungary. Because of the complexity of this system and its dependence on other systems, we cannot be responsible for delays or failures in forwarding or transmission. You're receiving this AlertMail because you subscribed for the service. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Contact: havaria@rsoe.hu