Anthrax hits Sirajganj, affects livelihood

Staff correspondent, Sirajganj:

At least 35 people of Chithulia village in Shahjadpur upazila have contracted anthrax, evoking great tension in the locality.

Some villagers claim they are still unaware of the symptoms of anthrax as the number of awareness raising programmers is scarce.

The Government has yet to send sufficient vaccines to the affected areas, making the residents of Belkuchi, Kamarkhand and Shahjadpur upazilas vulnerable in the fight against an outbreak.

The businesses in these areas have also taken a hefty blow. The supply of milk has waned drastically, especially in Shahjadpur, where the trading of milk is a chief source of livelihood.

“We still do not know what the future has in store for us,” Said Mujibur , a milk-man in Chithulia.

However, the livestock department in the area as well experts find no reason to worry about an outbreak.

“There is nothing to be worried about as the chances of mortality is pretty much nil,” assures Prof Shamshad Murtaza, chairman of the veterinary department, Bangladesh Agriculture University.

During a visit to the affected areas, it was found that the cattle were not periodically vaccinated and dead animals were disposed of in the rivers or open places.

This ill practice helped spread the disease, experts warned. Lack of awareness among farmers was also one of the reasons behind the spread of the bacterium, they added.