List of anthrax outbreaks

This page lists notable outbreaks of anthrax, a disease of humans and other mammals caused by Bacillus anthracis, organized by year.^[1]

2001

In September, 2001 letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two U.S. Senators, killing five people and infecting 17 others. Of those infected, 11 developed cutaneous anthrax, while 11 developed inhalational anthrax. 20 of the 22 infected worked at a site where contaminated mail was handled or received.^[2]

2009

In December 2009, a woman in New Hampshire was confirmed to have gastrointestinal anthrax. The woman is likely to have been infected at a drum event some days before she fell ill.^[3] Samples taken from the drum head were found to be positive for Bacillus anthracis.^[3] Others who had attended the event were offered antibiotics.^[3] The patient survived, and no additional cases were identified in this outbreak.^[3][4]

2014

In October 2014, an outbreak of anthrax in a village in India allegedly killed seven people. The village was located in the Simdega district within the Indian state of Jharkhand. Indian government health personnel quarantined 30 houses as a result. Officials traced the anthrax spores to a cow, and found that people who had touched the dead cow or eaten from it became infected. The Indian National Centre for Disease Control said at the time that the outbreak was one of the biggest in recent years in terms of deaths.^[5] Government officials sent samples of the suspected anthrax to a laboratory in Delhi for confirmation testing. People with the victims reported that the victims vomited blood and complained of chest and stomach aches.^[6] The Hindustan Times reported that village residents lynched a man who had treated some anthrax patients with herbs.^[7]

See also

• Anthrax
• Bacillus anthracis

References