Two villages in Kazakhstan quarantined due to anthrax

Two villages in the Atbasar district of Akmola region have been quarantined due to anthrax. The information was confirmed by the Minister of Agriculture Aidarbek Saparov, Tengrinews.kz reports.

At the end of June, Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova reported that several people in the Atbasar district had been infected with anthrax. At that time, there were four cases. The patients' condition was assessed as moderate. The minister reported that they were receiving the necessary medical care. Anti-epidemic measures were being taken.

At the same time, Alnazarova stated that quarantine would not be introduced in the region.

Today it became known that quarantine was introduced in Atbasar after all. As Aidarbek Saparov reported, restrictive measures were first introduced in the villages where cases of anthrax infection were detected. 19 cases of infection were detected there, one person is in serious condition.

"There should be no movement of livestock or people there. We fenced it off and put up a barrier. The Republican anti-epizootic squad did its job, starting with disinfection, processing, and disposal. As soon as we received the laboratory results, we immediately introduced quarantine on July 1. 19 people got sick there, one of them was seriously ill, the rest were moderately ill. They are under observation, and they are all recovering. Doctors are working on it, and the healthcare system is monitoring it," Saparov said at a government briefing.

The quarantine in the villages, according to him, will last 15 days. After that, new samples will be taken for testing. If the presence of anthrax is not confirmed, the quarantine measures will be lifted.

Later, the ministry clarified that Aidarbek Saparov misspoke. As the press service clarified, tests were taken from 19 people: in seven cases, anthrax was confirmed, while the remaining 12 were negative.

Anthrax is a particularly dangerous infectious disease of farm and wild animals of all species, as well as humans, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.