VIENTIANE, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Laos' Ministry of Health has ordered health officials and local authorities across the Southeast Asian country to be alert after 54 anthrax cases were reported in two districts in the southern Champasak province.
Local officials and health authorities have called for support and cooperation by residents in tracing sources of infection, collecting essential information, quarantining affected areas, and culling infected livestock, news website Lao Phattana News reported on Monday.
High-risk areas will be zoned off to prevent the spread of anthrax, and some abattoirs have been banned from slaughtering cattle and buffalo.
The Department of Communicable Disease Control under health ministry has advised livestock owners to closely monitor their animals for anthrax symptoms.
People are also asked to keep a close watch on their pets for signs of illness and immediately report to the village veterinarian any suspicious cases.
The health ministry has urged authorities in the affected Soukhoumma district to monitor the butchery and consumption of meat in areas from which the infections originated. Local authorities have also been tasked with disinfecting all areas with cases detected.
To prevent an outbreak, the district agricultural department has issued a notice urging all relevant sectors, including residents and small businesses, not to trade animals or animal products outside the district. ■
