In the rural district of Ulken Aksu in the Uyghur district of the Almaty region, the number of people infected with anthrax has increased.
According to Zakon.kz citing the regional akimat, as of 9 September, 16 people have been hospitalised.
Eleven of them have a confirmed diagnosis of anthrax, four have tested negative, and the test results of one patient are still unknown.
It is reported that all patients are receiving the necessary treatment and their condition is stable.
"At present, there is no spread of the disease, and the situation is under control. We urge residents of the region to be vigilant: only buy meat and meat products from verified places, and take precautions when tending to livestock. It is important to remember that anthrax is not transmitted from person to person", said the head of the regional health department, Almat Turysbekuly.
It is worth recalling that at the beginning of September, in the rural district of Ulken Aksu in the Uyghur district of the Almaty region, a quarantine was introduced due to an outbreak of anthrax. Four suspected cases of infection were recorded in the district. The preliminary cause of the disease is the involvement of local residents in the slaughter of a sick animal.
In August, due to an outbreak of anthrax in cattle, a quarantine was introduced in the village of Prichnoye in the Denisovsky district of the Kostanay region. Additionally, there were rumours that the meat of livestock which died during the floods was being ground into mince and sold at various catering outlets and markets. The Ministry of Agriculture denied this information.
Incidentally, back in the spring, the FBRK editorial team suggested that livestock burial sites submerged during the floods could pose a significant threat to Kazakhstan's citizens. Therefore, we requested data from the Ministry of Agriculture on how many anthrax burial sites were flooded during the floods.
Back then, in April, the department reported that across Kazakhstan there were 10 flooded anthrax burial sites, noting that laboratory tests of samples from these sites had returned negative results, and there was no threat of an epidemic.
Later, in May, the Ministry of Agriculture stated that as a result of the floods, 12 anthrax burial sites had now been submerged. These included 3 sites in Aktobe and the West Kazakhstan Region, and 6 sites in the North Kazakhstan Region.
The Ministry, as before, assured there was no threat of an epidemic occurring and noted that it was monitoring the epizootic situation in the country. The department stated at the time that active vaccination of animals against particularly dangerous diseases was being carried out in the regions.