Suspected Human Anthrax infection detected in Cagayan

Cagayan, Philippines – Health authorities are currently investigating a possible human anthrax infection in Cagayan after two individuals who butchered a carabao and ate its meat exhibited symptoms of the disease.

Anthrax typically affects livestock like cows, goats, and sheep, but it can infect humans through an open wound, consumption of contaminated meat, and inhalation of spores. Some cases can be deadly to humans.

The Department of Health, earlier this year, noted that anthrax is unlikely to infect the general public. Nevertheless, veterinarians, farmers, livestock personnel, and workers who handle animals and their products have higher risks of getting the disease.

Based on records, it was reported that there were only 82 suspected anthrax cases in the Philippines from January 2017 to December 2023 and that no additional cases were added from January to March 2024.

At present, two cases could possibly be added to the existing data after a 25-year-old man and his 53-year-old father in Sto. Niño, Cagayan showed symptoms of anthrax such as fever, chills, lethargy, and black lesions. The two are among the people who butchered a dead carabao and they were likewise among those who consumed its meat. 

Cagayan Provincial Information Office reported that the 25-year-old got sick on October 08, and three days later, his father also fell ill. They were admitted at the Cagayan Valley Medical Center.

Sample specimen was taken from the two patients who are now in a stable condition. The sample was sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for examination and confirmation.

The Cagayan Provincial Health Office and the DOH, meantime, have strengthened their surveillance monitoring to control spread of the human anthrax infection in Sto. Niño, Cagayan.