In another development related to the infected Australian sheep, the veterinery experts’ team has found symptoms of anthrax in some of dead sheep. Antrhax is a highly infectious fatal bacterial disease of mammals, especially cattle and sheep, that causes skin ulcers and is transmittable to humans by inhalation and through feces and infected meat.
“We have found all symptoms of anthrax in the imported sheep,” a senior Director Vetrinery Services of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) told Business Recorder on Thursday. Some of dead sheep, which were kept in hidden places by the local importer are most probably infected by anthrax as all symptoms of the disease were found in the affected animals.
The local importer, according to him, had kept these animals with over 3000 sheep recovered from a farmhouse on Wednesday night. A government team had raided a private farmhouse and recovered the affected sheep. Some of the sheep were dead at the farmhouse. Rejecting the claims of a veterinary expert, who visited Karachi with the Australian exporter, the local veterinary officer said that the sheep were infected with disease like anthrax. Culling was the only option to avoid the spread of dangerous and transmittable disease.
Though the Australian exporting company still claims that the sheep are fit for human consumption, urging the Pakistan government to stop the culling process besides demanding an internationally recognised fresh laboratory test, the local concerned departments found diseases in the imported animals while the government continued culling them on fourth consecutive days. Around 7000 sheep have so far been culled, sources claimed.
Currently, a team headed by Secretary Sindh Livestock Department, constituted on the order of Sindh High Court (SHC) was collecting afresh samples of thousands of infected sheep imported from Australia. The committee was directed to submit its report within one week. Some members of the team, who visited the site on Thursday, claimed that symptoms of anthrax were found in a few animals and samples have been taken for laboratory test. Soon after the fresh development necessary precautionary measures were being taken to save human live from the disease which is transmittable to humans.
