Saturday July 07 06:22 PM EDT

Del Rio Ranch Hand May Have Anthrax

A Del Rio ranch worker may have contracted anthrax, state health officials said.

The anthrax death toll for cattle and wildlife is climbing in three South Texas counties, including Del Rio.

Health officials believe that the worker reportedly skinned an infected animal. He is being treated and is expected to be released soon.

Officials have sent warnings to ranchers across the area and several ranches have been quarantined.

Health officials said that this is the worst anthrax outbreak since the 1970s.

-- (throw another steak @ on. the barbie), July 08, 2001

Answers

Hmmmm, I don't see a source. Is there one?

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), July 08, 2001.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ksat/20010707/lo/851470_1.html

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ksat/20010620/lo/837361_1.html

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010612/hl/anthrax_1.html

also...

Wednesday June 20 08:39 PM EDT

South Texas On Animal Anthrax Alert

A horse that died last weekend in Camp Wood marked the beginning of anthrax outbreak in animals, state health officials said.

L.A. Field of Camp Wood in Real County said that he, his 18-year-old granddaughter and others were in direct contact with the horse before it died.

Field said that a veterinarian diagnosed the animal with the deadly bacteria.

"You get symptoms pretty quick if you come in contact with (anthrax). That's the way I understood it," Field said.

He said that his family is fine.

The Texas Department of Health said that there are no other reported cases of anthrax so far, but the zoonotic disease is most commonly seen during the summer months in West and South Texas.

According to the health department, the last confirmed case of animal anthrax was in 1999 when the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory found that a whitetail doe was one of several deer and exotic game animals to die suddenly in Uvalde County.

Health department spokeswoman Dr. Catherine Tull said that horseflies may be carrying and transmitting the disease.

"(Veterinarians) attribute secondary cases to biting flies," Tull said.

Jodi Falcün, who manages a feed store in Camp Wood, said that rumors of anthrax deaths have been circulating for weeks.

He said that anthrax vaccines are selling well.

Anthrax, which is mass-produced by some countries as a biological weapon, can affect humans, but the general population is not at risk, Tull said.

"Packing plants and veterinarians are the ones that traditionally would be at the highest risk," she said. "The rancher who has carcasses at his place are not at high risk."

Health officials said that ranchers know to vaccinate their livestock against anthrax, but it appears that anthrax could return this summer.

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Tuesday June 12 1:19 PM ET

US Anthrax Vaccine Shortage Slows Military Use

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Low supplies of the anthrax vaccine are forcing the US military to tighten distribution further, using it only to inoculate special mission forces and for government research, the Pentagon (news - web sites) said on Monday.

The available vaccine was released by the Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) from a lot made before the renovation of the Lansing, Michigan facilities of BioPort Corp., the sole source of the vaccine for the US military.

BioPort is awaiting FDA approval of its renovated plant and the Pentagon said it hoped the vaccine from there can be distributed in the first quarter of 2002.

The Pentagon's anthrax vaccination program has generated controversy since it was launched in May 1998, with some service members refusing to take the series of shots because they worried about health consequences.

The Pentagon last year slowed its effort to inoculate all 2.4 million US active and reserve troops against the deadly anthrax biological agent because of a shortage of vaccine.

The Pentagon had previously curtailed the vaccine, no longer providing it to troops going to South Korea (news - web sites) but still inoculating soldiers going to the Gulf for 30 days or more.

The concern has been that Iraq or North Korea (news - web sites) might use the deadly biological agent against the US military. Anthrax spores, which are odorless and invisible, are lethal if inhaled.

The latest slowdown has no geographic location attached to it and provides for a vaccine in the event of an emergency.

``Actions are being taken to ensure that personnel deployed to high-threat areas have sufficient antibiotics on hand for post exposure treatment in case of an attack,'' the Pentagon said in a statement.

``This move is necessary to conserve available vaccine supply while protecting those servicemembers at greatest risk,'' the Pentagon said.

The Defense Department has vaccinated more than 511,000 servicemembers with more than 2 million doses of anthrax vaccine since March 1998.

-- yahoo (how dare @ you. doubt me), July 08, 2001.