Despite this statement by Ashford, CDC had this family vaccinated for anthrax!

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Date: Fri 17 Aug 2001 11:43:59

From: M. Cosgriff <mcosgriff@...>

Source: Reuters Health [edited]

CDC Reports First Human Anthrax Case Since 1992

-----------------------------------------------

ATLANTA - A North Dakota man who handled anthrax-infected livestock

during

an outbreak last year has become the first human case of the illness in

the

US in nearly a decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC)

in Atlanta reported Thursday.

The last reported case of cutaneous anthrax in the US occurred in 1992.

The

67-year-old North Dakota man is the only person known to have been

infected

during a livestock outbreak in the state last year. During the outbreak,

32

farms in North Dakota were quarantined, compared with an average of only

2

farms per year during the preceding 40 years.

The infected man had helped dispose of 5 cows that had died of anthrax 4

days before his symptoms appeared. He wore leather gloves, but the CDC

researchers speculate that the man may have transferred infective

anthrax

spores that were on his gloves to broken skin on his face. " (The man)

noticed a small bump on his left check at the angle of his jaw, " CDC

researchers write in the 17 Aug 2001 issue of the agency's Morbidity and

Mortality Weekly Report. The lesion had enlarged to about the size of a

quarter 2 days later and was surrounded by a purple ring, the report

indicates. After antibiotics, the man's condition slowly improved. [14

days

on 500 mg ciprofloxacin twice daily. - Mod.MHJ]

" In general, people should minimize the handling of animals that have

died

of anthrax. If possible, the animal should be burned where it lies, " the

CDC's Dr. Ashford told Reuters Health. " Anyone that does handle an

animal that has died of anthrax should be on the lookout for any unusual

sores on the skin surfaces that were exposed to the carcass, " he added.

However, Ashford stressed that for most people the odds of contracting

anthrax are quite low. " There is no great risk for the public or

community

in general, " he said. " The risk for those handling these animals is for

cutaneous anthrax exclusively, (and it) is a treatable disease with low

mortality. "

SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2001;50:677-680.

Human Anthrax Associated With an Epizootic Among Livestock --- North

Dakota, 2000. Emma Hitt, PhD

<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5032a1.htm>