by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
September 17, 2010
At least two people are already detected to have been infected Anthrax virus in Gazipur district, just two kilometers from the capital city in Bangladesh.
According to Bangladeshi health officials, more than 508 people have so far been infected by Anthrax as a major outbreak of the disease spreads through Bangladesh's dairy belt. Hundreds of cows have died causing severe panic amongst the farmers in the country.
In most of the Anthrax affected areas in Bangladesh, farmers are throwing Anthrax infected dead cows, which may cause another serious hazard for fish in the rivers and large water bases. An unconfirmed source claims that, anthrax infected fish was already identified in Sirajganj district.
Anthrax is a potentially lethal bacterium that exists naturally in the soil and commonly infects livestock which ingest or inhale its spores while grazing. It can be transmitted to humans who handle or eat infected animals. Anthrax germs are also reportedly produced by various terrorist groups in the world. Anthrax spores can be produced in vitro and used as a biological weapon.
Like many other members of the genus Bacillus, Bacillus Anthracis can form dormant spores that are able to survive in harsh conditions for extremely long periods of time—even decades or centuries. Such spores can be found on all continents, even Antarctica. When spores are inhaled, ingested, or come into contact with a skin lesion on a host they may reactivate and multiply rapidly.
I already wrote in another piece on Anthrax that this virus might have been intentionally spread in Bangladesh my terrorist or Islamist groups, which are now facing tremendous offensives from the government. Current government in Bangladesh, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is continuing massive offensives against terrorists and Islamist militants since it came in power in January 2009. There had been numerous attempts on the life of the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, local and international chain fast food stores in Bangladesh are continuing to sell beef based items such as pizza, burger, rolls etc without verifying the meat. It is feared that people as well as expatriates in Bangladesh may get infected to Anthrax virus from these foodstuff. In hundreds of local restaurants in the country, un-inspected beef are being openly sold as curry or other dishes to customers. There is no monitoring on the quality of meet used in fast food or other food items in Bangladesh, which are made of beef. Local and international hotels in Dhaka and Chittagong are also reportedly buying un-inspected beef from the local suppliers.
According to experts, people aware of this lethal infection should not only refrain from buying and consuming fast food and other food items made of beef, they also should refrain from buying any other food item from various fast food shops or restaurants in the country. They [experts] opined that, though people may refrain from buying and consuming beef based items, it should also be noted that, the fast food shops and restaurants are preparing other food items in the same pan or woven, which again remains as a matter of great concern.
A senior health official in Dhaka said, though the government has engaged experts from health department in inspecting cows before slaughtering in Bangladesh, most of the butchers are obtaining a certificate from those officials in exchange of bribe. In this case, even if any cow meat is sold in the market with certificate issued by the health department, it cannot be totally trusted.
The source further said that, in Pabna [northern district in Bangladesh] two people got infected to Anthrax germs even after consuming beef, which were certified by the health department to be free from germs.
Considering current situation, Bangladesh government has already issued red alert throughout the country. Fisheries and Livestock minister Abdul Latif Biswas announced the red alert in the country on Wednesday.
Initially the outbreak of Anthrax was reported in Sirajganj on August 20, in Pabna on August 22, Tangail on August 31, Kushtia on September 1, Meherpur and Chuadanga on September 4, Gopalganj and Faridpur on September 7 and lately in Gazipur on September 16.
On possible spread of Anthrax germs by terrorists and Islamists in Bangladesh, counter-terrorism specialists said, foreign missions in Dhaka, especially those of Western and developed countries need to take extra-precaution while receiving any document or mail sent via postal or courier service. Special monitoring should also be immediately enforced to check the visa seekers, if any of them bearing Anthrax infection enters the foreign mission compound.
The experts said, terrorists and Islamists may attempt to send Anthrax germ infected mails in the form of newspapers, letters of documents to the foreign missions in Bangladesh with ulterior motive. Though a very few foreign missions in Dhaka are already using necessary methods of scanning every incoming mails and parcels, there is no such vigilance in at least couple of dozens of foreign missions in Bangladesh. Experts suggested similar precautions in United Nation's Organizations as well as elite for Rapid Action Battalion [RAB] units in the country. It also said, judiciaries in Bangladesh are also required to take certain immediate measures in scanning each of the incoming mails and parcels.
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