The Federal Government has confirmed the first case of Anthrax in Nigeria, after the disease was discovered in a farm in Niger State on Monday.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a statement on Monday that it “is deeply concerned to announce the confirmation of an anthrax case in Niger State, Nigeria.”
The ministry via a statement also said, “On 14th of July, 2023 the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria was notified of animals manifesting symptoms of a suspected case of anthrax in a farm in Suleja, Niger State.
“The case was in a multi-specie animal farm comprising of cattle, sheep and goats located at Gajiri, along Abuja-Kaduna expressway Suleja LGA Niger State, where some of the animals had symptoms including oozing of blood from their body openings – anus, nose, eyes and ears.
“A Rapid Response team comprising of federal and state One Health Professional Team visited the farm to conduct preliminary investigations and collected samples from the sick animals.
“Subsequent laboratory tests by the National Veterinary Research Institute laboratory confirmed the diagnosis, marking the first recorded case of anthrax in Nigeria in recent years and after the report of an outbreak of anthrax in Northern Ghana a few weeks ago.”
The FG stated that it had taken proactive measures to manage and contain the disease through the Ministry and in partnership with the Niger state government.
Such measures include quarantining the affected farm, deploying 50,000 doses of anthrax vaccines for ring vaccination of susceptible animal species around the infected farm, and educating farm workers on the symptoms, preventive measures, and what to do if they notice any signs of the disease using a One-health approach.
