Anthrax found at a farm in Örebro

An animal at a farm in Örebro has been found infected with anthrax (mjältbrand in Swedish).  

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  Anthrax has been found at a farm in Örebro. An acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, most forms of anthrax are lethal and it affects humans as well as animals. There are effective vaccines against anthrax, and some forms of the disease respond well to antibiotic treatment. It enters the body through the intestines (ingestion), lungs (inhalation) or skin (cutaneous). In a human, the symptoms are initially cold or flu-like for several days, followed by severe and often fatal respiratory collapse. Above a microphotograph of a Gram stain of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, the cause of the anthrax disease.

• Measures have been taken by the Jordbruksverket (the Swedish Board of Agriculture) to ward off further infections. A spokesperson from Jordbruksverket said:

• “There’s no threat to public safety.” The anthrax was discovered on Sunday by Statens Veterinärmedicinska Anstalt (SVA - the National Veterinary Institute). "We suspect that several (animals) have died of the same cause. But we've only tested one animal. The farm has a total of roughly 80 animals, and between 10 to 20 of them died recently," Gunilla Hallgren, an expert from SVA said.

• "We think this is an old infection that has resurfaced following some digging in the cow field. We've received some unconfirmed information that there were anthrax graves there. But the infection doesn't spread through the air," said Hallgren. "Only dying or dead animals are contagious, and these animals are never in the food supply chain," she added. The latest Swedish case of anthrax was found in 2008 and another case was found in 1981. Humans can be infected if they have close contact with animals that have died of the disease, said the SVA.