Thailand has sounded an alert after reporting its first anthrax-related death in decades.
A 53-year-old man in Mukdahan province, in northeastern Thailand near the border with Laos, died on Wednesday after contracting anthrax, the government said, with a second case confirmed in the same province and three additional suspected cases under investigation.
Anthrax is caused by bacteria often transmitted through contact with infected animals or consumption of contaminated meat. Wednesday’s death was the first anthrax fatality in Thailand since 1994.
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Health authorities have identified at least 638 people who may have been exposed to infection after consuming raw or undercooked meat. Officials confirmed that 36 of those affected had participated in the butchering of livestock, while the remainder reportedly ate raw or insufficiently cooked beef. All individuals identified are currently undergoing antibiotic treatment as part of ongoing containment efforts.
The Livestock Department is overseeing containment efforts in the affected area, including a 5-km (3.2-mile) quarantine zone around the infection site, the agriculture ministry said. There are plans to vaccinate 1,222 cattle, though no animals have shown signs of illness or unexplained death, it added.
The last time Thailand reported human anthrax cases was in 2017, when two people contracted the disease without dying. In 2000, authorities recorded 15 cases, all of which were free of fatalities.
