Public Health England imposes movement restrictions at farm in Westbury area after first case of anthrax in livestock since 2006

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A cow at a farm in Wiltshire has died from anthrax, the first such case in livestock in Britain since 2006.

Movement restrictions were imposed at the farm and an animal’s carcass was burned at the end of last week. No other animals had been affected and the risk of infection for humans in close contact with the cow was very low, Public Health England (PHE) said.

Mike Wade, deputy director of health protection for PHE south-west, said: “We are aware of a confirmed case of anthrax disease in a cow in the Westbury area of Wiltshire.



“The risk of infection in close human contacts of the animal is very low, and we are in touch with any potential contacts to offer public health advice.”

Maggie Rae, director of public health at Wiltshire council, said she was confident there had been no exposure of the disease to those in contact with the dead cow.

“Anyone who was in contact with the cow, which was a limited number of people, we’ve just being observing them,” she told BBC Wiltshire.

“There is quite a short period between exposure and illness, probably about 72 hours, and all those human contacts have shown no sign of the disease.”

She added: “Obviously the most important thing we needed to do, which we did over the weekend, was have the cow incinerated and make sure it was disposed of safely.”

Cattle and sheep can die quickly from anthrax, but their carcasses may show no obvious signs of the disease. The length of the illness varies and some animals may have signs of illness for several days before death. The main clinical signs include high temperature, shivering or twitching and a harsh dry coat.



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Anthrax is spread when its spores are inhaled, ingested, or come into contact with skin lesions.

In July 2006, an artist died after contracting the disease from animal hides he imported to make drums and artefacts. Experts identified anthrax as the most likely cause for the 50-year-old developing septicaemia.

Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. It most commonly occurs in cattle, sheep and goats but can also arise in humans exposed to infected animals.

A local footpath close to the farm was closed and it was confirmed that no cattle from the field had entered the food chain.

The last livestock case of the rare disease was on a beef farm in south Wales.



Two cows died on the farm in Rhondda Cynon Taf in April 2006. Before that, the last case seen in Britain was in 2002.

All sudden, unexplained deaths of cattle are investigated for anthrax, and hundreds of samples are examined each year.