Five people diagnosed with anthrax in Black Sea village

GİRESUN – Anadolu Agency

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Five people have been diagnosed with anthrax in Black Sea province of Giresun this week, with authorities undertaking medical examinations in the neighborhood.

Four people were diagnosed with anthrax in the village of Ortaköy in the Yağlıdere district on June 3. Two of them were sent to Ankara for further tests and medication. On June 4, one more person from the same village was diagnosed with anthrax and hospitalized immediately, Giresun public health department head Sağlığı Dr. Fazıl Özden said. 

“Our health teams did medical checks on everyone in the village, particularly those who had contact with animals. We did not detect anyone infected with this disease,” said Özden.

The Giresun Food, Agriculture and Breeding Directorate said in written statement June 3 that the four infected persons worked as cattle slaughters and went to a health center on May 26 due to lesions on their skin. 

The statement said that the disease might have come to the village via straw brought from outside the Giresun province, adding that all animals in the village had undergone medical screenings and showed no sign of the disease.