Anthrax Outbreak in China with 'Up to 95% Fatality Rate'... 9 Village Residents Suspected of Group Infection

Anthrax bacteria.
Photo by Global Times capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seoyoung] Anthrax, with a fatality rate of up to 95%, has reoccurred in China, raising concerns.

On the 15th, China Central Television (CCTV) and others reported that the Shanxi Provincial Health Commission received a report of a cluster of suspected cutaneous anthrax cases in Yuanshui County, Lvliang City, and began full-scale quarantine and treatment. According to the report, residents of Liuhulan Village in Yuanshui County experienced symptoms such as widespread hives, blistering, and skin turning black.

Preliminary epidemiological investigations by Chinese quarantine authorities revealed that nine villagers reported similar anthrax symptoms. All of them were engaged in cattle breeding, slaughtering, and sales. Among the residents showing abnormal symptoms, five are isolated and receiving treatment in the village, two have been discharged, and two are being treated in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province.

Local health authorities disinfected all places visited by these individuals and their excreta, and began monitoring close contacts. They also dispatched infectious disease experts to the area to conduct epidemiological investigations to determine if more residents are showing similar symptoms.

Previously, anthrax patients had also appeared in other regions of China, causing concern. On the 10th, the Chinese state-run Global Times reported, citing the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, that a patient who had contact with cattle and sheep in Weichang Manchu and Mongol Autonomous County, Chengde City, Hebei Province, was transferred to Beijing and diagnosed with anthrax.

Anthrax is a zoonotic infectious disease that can affect both humans and animals, and most patients become infected through contact with animals infected with anthrax. The usual fatality rate is around 5-20%, but if antibiotics are not administered within 24 to 48 hours after infection onset, the fatality rate can rise to as high as 95%.