‘Floods might have exposed bacteria buried underneath’: Dr. Parikshit Kakati

‘Floods might have exposed bacteria buried underneath’: Dr. Parikshit Kakati

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The preliminary tests of blood samples of the two dead buffaloes have confirmed the anthrax scare in the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.

From WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), Dr. Parikshit Kakati said, “From time to time Bacillus anthracis (an etiologic agent of anthrax) occurs and spreads in Assam. This is a zoonotic (spreading from animals to men) disease. We got the information of the occurrence of anthrax on October 16 and got it confirmed on October 17 from the symptoms of the two victim buffaloes. A couple of buffaloes – a bull and a cow – died of the infection. The symptom of the disease is that the blood of an infected animal doesn’t clot, and the animal bleeds through the nose, the mouth or any other apertures of the body.”

Dr. Parikshit Kakati said: “The postmortem of the body of an anthrax victim animal is fraught with the risk of the bacteria being spread in the air and on the land. The bacteria might have appeared on the land and then got buried underneath. Anthrax might have been exposed because of floods. Formalin has been sprayed in the affected area. Taking the very spot where the two buffaloes died as the centre, an area of 1.5 sq km will be solar-fenced in Pobitora so as not to let other animals gaze in the area. All forest employees on duty in Pobitora have been given antibiotics as a precautionary measure.”

The Deputy Director of the Animal Health Centre located at Khanapara in Guwahati, Dr. Paresh Sarma, said, “For the past three years there has been no record of animals dying of anthrax in Morigaon district. The entire area in the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary has been kept under observation. The elephants engaged in the Safari service in the wildlife sanctuary have been vaccinated. Apart from this, an arrangement has been made for vaccination of all livestock in the nearby areas of Pobitora.”

Dr. Sarma further said: “If anthrax spreads to a human, the person will have pox-like black spots on the skin, besides suffering from pneumatic diseases.”

Dr. Sarma said that land samples have also been collected for test.

Last year three cases of anthrax were detected in June, July and December in Darrang district.

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