The re-emergence of anthrax in Nigeria

Abstract

A health threat anywhere is a threat everywhere. The re-emergence of anthrax in Nigeria, barely 2 weeks after an outbreak in Ghana, underscores the threat posed by transboundary animal diseases and the need for a collaborative one-health approach to disease prevention and control. The confirmed outbreak in Northcentral Nigeria has a case fatality rate of 13% (n = 13/100) in cattle and 13.7% (n = 10/73) in sheep. An immediate notification has been sent to the World Organisation for Animal Health. No human cases have yet been confirmed. Disease containment activities including mass ruminant vaccination against anthrax are in progress and more active surveillance is needed to determine the spread of the disease.