Anthrax infection suspected in father and son in Sto. Nino, Cagayan

A farmer and his son in the town of Sto. Nino, Cagayan are suspected of being infected with anthrax after they butchered and ate the meat of their dead carabao.

The Cagayan Provincial Health Office, it was October 6 when a farmer grazed his carabao which he later found dead the following morning. 

Instead of burying the carcass, he and his son slaughtered the animal and sold its meat. They also ate the carabeef.

After a few days, the two men became sick. They experienced fever, tremors, became physical weak and developed dark colored wounds on their skin.

Both are confined in a hospital. Their specimens were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) to determine if they were infected with anthrax.

Authorities are also observing around 100 people who bought the carabao meat.

According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health, anthrax is a bacterial disease (Bacillus anthracis) that commonly infects animals that include carabaos.

The bacteria can be passed to humans who butcher or eat the meat of animals infected with anthrax, particularly if it was consumed raw or improperly cooked.

A person can also be infected if the bacteria spores are inhaled or enter through an open wound.
—RF, GMA Integrated News