Anthrax Hits South Dakota Cattle Herds
US - A livestock disease that has been known to veterinary medicine for generations and regularly appears in South Dakota has been detected in three cattle herds in Douglas and Hutchinson counties.
18 August 2008
1 minute read
According to Sioux Falls Argus Leader, the Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory at South Dakota State University is closely tracking the outbreak of anthrax in those herds.
"It is one of the oldest diseases known to man," says South Dakota State Veterinarian Sam Holland. "We are in what is known as an anthrax belt, from Canada to Texas. Historically, the soil in this part of the country is known to be contaminated with spores of the bacteria."
Holland is quick to point out the cattle disease is not the same form of weapons-grade anthrax that was mailed to the office of former Sen. Tom Daschle and several others in 2001.
Holland says the anthrax spores that afflicted the South Dakota cattle are large and difficult to inhale.
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