Quick Take: Second Region Reports Suspected Infections of Deadly Anthrax

After reports of an anthrax outbreak in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang last week, animal health authorities in the neighboring Inner Mongolia autonomous region said eight people there are believed to be infected with the deadly disease.

The eight, all from a village administered by the city of Tongliao, are being treated for suspected anthrax infections at a local hospital and their conditions are stable, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday, citing a notice released late on Sunday by a Tongliao government office responsible for animal health emergencies.

At least nine cows have died from suspected anthrax infections since Aug. 7 in the village of Shengli, about 470 miles northeast of Beijing, according to the document. The authority did not say how many other animals might have come into contact with the dead animals and how many have fallen ill.

Anthrax can be found in infected animal carcasses, wool, hair and hides, and direct contact with anthrax spores can result in raised boil-like lesions. Exposure to the spores via inhalation can lead to potentially fatal lung damage.

It usually takes a few days to determine whether a living body contains Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax infections.

A total of 14 confirmed human anthrax cases were reported last week. One person has been released from the hospital, and the rest are in stable conditions at facilities in Heilongjiang’s capital, Harbin, and in the cities of Jiamusi and Jixi, the area’s health authority said in a notice issued Aug. 10.

Authorities did not say how and where people were infected with anthrax, but hundreds of sheep were culled in farms in Jiamusi and Qitaihe — two cities in Heilongjiang — earlier last week after being suspected of having been exposed to the virus.

Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com)