Bangkok: Thailand has reported its first death linked to anthrax for decades with two national infections, which prompted a public health alert after the authorities identified hundreds potentially exposed to fatal bacteria, announced Thursday, May 1.
A 53-year-old man in the province of Mukdahan, in northeast Thailand, near the border with Laos, died on Wednesday after contracted Anthrax, the government said, with a second confirmed case in the same province and three alleged additional cases under investigation.
The authorities have identified at least 638 people as being potentially exposed after eating raw meat. Among them, 36 years old had participated in the butcher's mouth while the others had consumed raw or insufficient beef, said health officials. All of them receive antibiotics as part of containment measures.
“All people who may have been in contact with infected meat are monitored,” said the Ministry of Health.
The breeding service oversees containment efforts in the affected area, including a forty -5 km area around the infection site, the Ministry of Agriculture said.
It is planned to vaccinate 1,222 cattle, although no animal has shown signs of illness or unexplained death, he added.
Anthrax is a rare but serious disease caused by bacteria often transmitted by contact with infected animals or the consumption of contaminated meat. He does not offer the person to the person.
Thailand reported for the last time the cases of human anthrax in 2017, when two people were infected without death. In 2000, 15 cases were recorded, also without death.
The death of Wednesday was the first death of the anthrax in Thailand since 1994, when three have died and this follows an increase in regional infections. Laos reported 129 anthrax infections last year, including a death, while Vietnam confirmed 13 cases in May 2023.
Thai authorities are pursuing investigations into the source of infection and said they would maintain increased surveillance in border areas.
