15 Abra residents rushed to hospital after eating meat from sick carabao

Fifteen residents in Barangay Cayapa in Lagangilang, Abra were downed by suspected anthrax after eating meat from a sick carabao.

A report on 24 Oras on Saturday, said that the 15 residents showed anthrax symptoms including itchy skin, skin wounds, difficulty in breathing and diarrhea.

The report said that 15 residents ate meat from carabao that died due to anthrax.

The health office in Abra said the 15 patients were still under observation.

Anthrax is a potentially deadly bacterial disease that can be acquired by humans through direct contact with infected animals.  It is an infectious disease due to a type of bacteria called Bacillus anthracis.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said anthrax is a disease of herbivorous animals including carabao.

It can be acquired if one eats anthrax-contaminated food and through the respiratory route or when one inhales the anthrax spores in the air.

The WHO said that the disease is "regarded" as non-contagious, but there have been rare cases of "person-to-person spread." —Anna Felicia Bajo/ALG, GMA News