BISHKEK, June 9 (RIA Novosti) - An anthrax outbreak has hit south Kyrgyzstan, where two people are reported to have died of the disease and six others hospitalized with similar symptoms, health officials in the Central Asian state said on Monday.
Anthrax has been confirmed in the two dead who were from the village of Beshinchi. Further tests are being carried out on the six people, who are currently being treated in isolation wards, officials said.
Health officials said the victims may have contracted the disease when they slaughtered a horse for its meat in late May.
Anthrax most commonly infects wild mammals and domestic cattle and sheep, which ingest or inhale the spores while grazing. Humans can be affected when exposed to blood and other tissues from infected animals.
Anthrax can be highly lethal, but in some forms it responds well to antibiotic treatment. There are effective vaccines against the disease.
Authorities have temporarily shut the local livestock market.
