The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed last week that a Texas rancher tested positive for anthrax after handling a ewe that was butchered and consumed after dying on his ranch.
On Christmas Eve, the patient found the dead lamb on his ranch, which was located adjacent to a region that has enzootic anthrax and is known as the “Anthrax Triangle.” According to the CDC, this represents the geographic region of Texas where laboratory-confirmed animal anthrax cases are most frequent and is bounded by the towns of Eagle Pass, Ozona, and Uvalde. Counties represented in this region include Crockett, Edwards, Kinney, Maverick, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde, and Zavala counties.
According to reports, the lamb was healthy and showed no signs of disease before its death. The patient and another person seasoned and cooked the meat, which they consumed with three other people.
Eleven days later, the man, identified only as a rancher between the ages of 50 and 59, was evaluated at a Texas hospital. He presented with a fever, an increased number of white blood cells, a black scab on his wrist, swelling, and blistering on his arm.
The rancher was the only person who came into contact with the lamb that showed symptoms of anthrax. Officials concluded that the infecting bacteria possibly was inactivated when the meat was cooked at high temperatures. However, there is no safe way to prepare meat for human consumption from an animal that has died of anthrax.
After three days of ineffective antibiotic therapy, anthrax was suspected. He was placed on antimicrobial monotherapy for presumed nonsystemic, cutaneous anthrax.
The next day, he was moved to a bigger hospital. Tests confirmed anthrax DNA but no live bacteria. The patient recovered and was sent home a week later.
The lamb was the suspected source, and in light of that suspicion, interviews were conducted with the patient and his family members. On Jan. 6 and 11, two more ewes died on the farm with ocular and nasal hemorrhage. Nasal swabs sent to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory for culture for Bacillus anthracis. were negative, but a high level of clinical and epidemiological suspicion for anthrax remained.
This outbreak happened on a farm near the Anthrax Triangle in Texas, close to where a similar case occurred in 2019. Both times, the patients had touched animal carcasses, highlighting the danger of handling dead animals without knowing the cause of death.
The CDC recommends wearing protective gear if you must move dead animals. There was no information on whether this herd was regularly vaccinated against anthrax or if they were vaccinated after some animals died. There have been concerns about vaccine side effects in goats and horses in this area. Still, officials also indicate that vaccinating animals is crucial to prevent anthrax outbreaks and protect humans.
Anthrax is a rare but serious infectious zoonotic disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Although sporadic animal outbreaks can happen in the U.S. during hot, dry summer months, human cases typically follow direct contact with or processing of anthrax-infected animals or contaminated animal products such as hide, hair, or wool.
»Related: 10 weird livestock diseases, syndromes, and what to look for