The Federal Government of Nigeria on Monday confirmed the first case of Anthrax in the country after revealing that the disease was detected in a farm in Niger State.

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development who made this revelation in a statement, pointed out that it ‘is deeply concerned to announce the confirmation of an anthrax case in Niger State, Nigeria.’

It added that ‘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.’

According to the statement which was obtained by Africa Today News, New York, all the affected animals have died

Blaze Fm