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2010-02-28 11:21:43 - Epidemic Hazard - Philippines EDIS CODE: EH-20100228-25149-PHL
Date & Time: 2010-02-28 11:21:43 [UTC]
Area: Philippines, Province of Cagayan, , San Pedro !!! ALERT !!! Number of Infected person(s): 150
Damage level: Heavy (Level 3)
Not confirmed information! Description: Two people died while scores were hospitalized in a remote Cagayan village in what authorities said was a case of ingesting contaminated animal meat at the weekend. Doctors at the Cagayan Provincial Hospital feared the deaths might have been caused by the anthrax bacteria following reports that residents in San Pedro village in Lasam town had been downed after eating spoiled meat. Cagayan health officer Danilo Alonzo confirmed that two residents from the village had died, while his deputy, Carlos Cortina, said about 150 more had been hospitalized as of last Friday and were under close monitoring by medical personnel. “The spread [of the disease] has developed into epidemic proportions but we are now doing all we can to contain the situation," Alonzo said on Sunday. The names and ages of the victims were not yet available, but Cortina told GMANews.TV the investigation by the Cagayan health office had found that the victims had all consumed meat from a dead carabao. “This incident is not new in the area considering that the same kind of bacteria has infected several residents of the same town last year," Cortina said, adding that they were still verifying the diagnosis since determining the real cause of the deaths was not easy. He added that the bacteria remain in the soil even after 10 years or more. “We already sent out advisories as early as last year that the public should not eat meat of dead animals because the bacteria stays in the soil for a long time and both grazing and gnawing animals are easily infected by the anthrax’s spore," he said.
Patients infected with anthrax, caused by Bacillus anthracis, have been rushed to the Lasam General Hospital and Cagayan Valley Medical Center in Tuguegarao City. Health officials traced the problem to poverty or lack of available food, noting that the poor get victimized by profiteers who sell cheap meat from unknown sources. Cortina said the patients and villagers had been given anti-anthrax medications, antibiotics and other medicines, while Governor Antonio Alvaro had announced that the provincial government was ready to release funds to mitigate the spread of anthrax. Meanwhile, Alonzo said the provincial veterinary office was already on alert as farm animals in areas suspected of infection were “being butchered and buried immediately." Lethal when not treated properly and immediately, the anthrax bacteria can move to humans that eat the meat of infected animals or those that chew on plants from infected soil. The incubation period ranges from 12 hours to 5 days. Among the signs of infection in humans are headache, fever, abdominal pains, dry cough and itchy skin lesions. The bacteria can survive in harsh conditions for extremely long periods of time and can be found on all continents. When inhaled, ingested, or come into contact with a skin lesion on a host, the spores may reactivate and multiply rapidly.
The name of Hazard: Anthrax
Species: Human
Status: Suspected
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