Plateau State government has confirmed that two communities in the state have been hit by suspected cases of anthrax disease.
This was revealed on Saturday by the government in a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere, made available to the press.
The government disclosed that it had directed the Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health and the Veterinary Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture to the tackle the issue with utmost urgency.
The statement said that samples had been taken to the National Veterinary Institute Vom for indepth assessment and examination.
“The attention of the Plateau State government has been drawn to a story published in some national newspapers and trending on social media that over 1,000 cows died of a strange disease within a space of four days in some villages in the Mangu Local Government Area of the state.
“The story is far from the truth, as it does not reflect the reality of happenings in the communities mentioned conspicuously in the story. For the avoidance of doubt, there is no such incident in any part of Mangu Local Government Area. And the government has not received information about the mass deaths of animals from any of the communities mentioned in the reports.
“The story is based on hearsay and there is no credible source that has authenticated the story which has created tension in the affected communities.
“The government therefore advises the general public, particularly members of the said communities, to disregard the misleading story, and assured Plateau people that a team of Epidemiologists has been sent to the affected communities on the instruction of Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang to ascertain the truth of the story to prevent loss of lives,” the statement said.
“However, there are two suspected cases of anthrax disease in two communities in the state. The samples have been taken to the National Veterinary Institute Vom for thorough assessment and further investigation. While waiting for the outcome, government would like to make it clear that there was no mass deaths of 1,000 cows in the mentioned areas as reported in the story,” the statement added.
However, the statement which did not mention the two communities affected by anthrax disease in the state, advised members of the public to be aware of the fact that the risk of contracting anthrax disease increases with exposure to infected animals, their meat or their hides.