Recent reports indicate that there has been an outbreak of anthrax in Yanggu, Shandong, where multiple individuals have been infected. Dr. Zhang Wenhong, Director of the National Infectious Disease Medical Center, has urged attention to the potential contamination of anthrax bacteria in the surrounding environment. Mainland Chinese media has also revealed that the epidemic has spread.
Dr. Zhang Wenhong, Director of the National Infectious Disease Medical Center and Director of the Infectious Diseases Department at Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, wrote an article on August 4th addressing anthrax. He emphasized the importance of monitoring the potential contamination of anthrax bacteria in the surrounding environment in response to the recent cluster of infections, calling for effective eradication and surveillance, particularly emphasizing the safe disposal of infected animals and the vaccination of animals in epidemic areas against anthrax.
Dr. Zhang’s article mainly focuses on the cases of anthrax in Yanggu County, Liaocheng City, Shandong. According to online sources, an anthrax outbreak occurred at a farm in a certain town in Yanggu, resulting in the deaths of dozens of cattle. Meat from infected cattle had entered the market, leading to many people contracting anthrax and some fatalities. Screenshots of relevant notifications from local companies and the Shandong Provincial Livestock and Veterinary Bureau have also circulated online, arousing wide attention.
According to official Communist Party sources on August 2nd, five anthrax-infected individuals were identified, with relatively mild symptoms and already undergoing isolated treatment. All livestock at the affected farm have been culled and safely disposed of. State media described the disease as “preventable, controllable, and treatable.”
On the same day, an article published by WeChat account “Xiaoxiang Morning News” was widely shared, inadvertently revealing that anthrax had already spread, affecting not only “that town in Yanggu, but also various other towns in different areas.”
Political commentator Tang Jingyuan told a reporter that after news of the anthrax outbreak in Yanggu, Shandong, spread among the public, the Chinese authorities were forced to reluctantly acknowledge the situation and claim that the risks were under control. This strategy resembled the initial concealment of the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan, reflecting a pattern of the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts at information control. The real situation may be more severe. Dr. Zhang Wenhong’s article warning about the importance of anthrax prevention at this time indicates concerns about significant vulnerabilities in anthrax prevention in the affected area.
According to information from the official website of the World Health Organization, approximately 2,000 cases of anthrax occur worldwide each year, with the highest prevalence in Africa and South Central Asia, while occurrences in Northern Europe and North America are rare.
Statistics from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that over the past decade, between 300 and 500 people in China are infected with anthrax annually. Shandong Province has shown an upward trend in anthrax incidence in recent years.
According to a report by Yu Hongjie and others from Fudan University covering anthrax cases in China from 1955 to 2014, during the period from 2005 to 2014, 86.7% of cases occurred in farmers and herdsmen. Shandong Province had a 0% incidence rate of anthrax.
In 2021, there were two reported cases of anthrax in Shandong, one involving a 14-year-old student who died eight days after becoming infected with anthrax. The student’s family had purchased meat from infected cattle, and he had been involved in handling the meat in their home freezer. Another male patient who fell ill had slaughtered cattle at the student’s home.
The anthrax epidemic in Yanggu, Shandong, has seen a sharp increase in the number of infected individuals, with authorities not specifying the transmission route of the infection.
A local resident named Cai Ping (pseudonym) from Shandong told a reporter that, from what he had heard, the infected cattle in Yanggu had been brought in from Heilongjiang Province. Upon their return, many of the cattle died, with the incident initially not being reported, and the meat was frozen. It was only after reports of many people falling ill and deaths that an investigation was launched. The reporter was unable to independently verify this account.
Heilongjiang has always been a major province for cattle farming in China, with a high incidence of anthrax. In 2018, Heilongjiang reported 14 anthrax cases, similar to previous years.
On June 24, the Heilongjiang CDC issued health advisories for July, listing more than ten infectious diseases to be aware of including cholera, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, plague, and anthrax. On July 3, the Heilongjiang Provincial CDC issued an anthrax health risk advisory twice within a span of a week, indicating a complex situation regarding anthrax.
On August 7, a video was posted on X platform claiming that anthrax had also appeared in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province. The footage showed a patient infected with anthrax lying in a hospital ward in Shijiazhuang, with wounds on their right arm and hand, appearing swollen and blackened. The doctor, after inquiring about the patient’s condition, stated on camera that the patient had fed cattle before falling ill due to a wound becoming infected. While the anthrax test on the patient’s skin was negative, the blood test was positive, indicating the patient had septicemic anthrax.
According to the doctor in the video, once anthrax enters the bloodstream, it can lead to pulmonary anthrax. Pulmonary anthrax, as a contact-transmitted infection, falls under class A management. The doctor hoped that medication could control the situation and prevent the development of pulmonary anthrax.
It remains unverified if anthrax has spread in Hebei, despite the prevalence of cattle farming in the province closely following Shandong.
Anthrax, caused by Bacillus anthracis, is a severe infectious disease naturally present in soil worldwide, primarily affecting herbivores such as cattle, sheep, and horses. Humans usually become infected by coming into contact with or ingesting contaminated animal products or inhaling large amounts of anthrax spores. The main at-risk populations for anthrax are those involved in raising, slaughtering, and selling livestock, as well as those working in leather and fur processing. Human-to-human transmission of anthrax is rare.
So why is anthrax terrifying, and how does it spread? Dr. Wang Yuan, a former physician at Beijing Hospital now residing in Japan, explained in an interview with a reporter that anthrax spores are highly resilient. In unfavorable conditions, they can transform into spores, surviving in soil, grass, animal fur, or air for many years, even decades. Once ingested, spores can activate, multiply, and pose a threat to humans and animals. Due to the difficulty of eradicating anthrax from the natural environment, burying infected livestock is not sufficient; incineration is required using specialized high-temperature incinerators.
Dr. Wang elaborated on the three main types of anthrax. The most common type is cutaneous anthrax, accounting for over 95% of anthrax cases. Bacillus anthracis enters the body through surface wounds, creating red lesions at the infection site, which then develop into nodules, blisters, or pustules that ulcerate. In typical cases, the ulceration turns black with necrosis at the center and surrounding edema. With early treatment, antibiotics can be used for control. Cutaneous anthrax carries a mortality rate of up to 20%, and if the patient develops bacteremia, typically accompanied by high fever, shock can quickly lead to death.
Gastrointestinal anthrax is another type, caused by consuming undercooked contaminated meat. The incubation period is approximately 3 to 7 days, with initial symptoms of fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhea. Left untreated, it can result in death.
“What the Chinese people lack the most is the right to information. The Communist Party suppresses speech, endangering the public by allowing infected meat to circulate in markets, potentially leading to fatal gastrointestinal anthrax. If the refrigerated storage of diseased cattle meat is not disinfected properly, it can infect subsequently stored meat from cattle and sheep,” Wang stated.
The most difficult to treat is respiratory anthrax. It is caused by inhaling anthrax spores, with an incubation period of about 1 to 3 days. The initial symptoms mimic those of viral respiratory infections, progressing from shortness of breath, nausea, sore throat, and high fever to respiratory distress, shock, meningitis, and death within a day if not promptly treated.
“Respiratory anthrax is very frightening. Once the spore count inhaled exceeds 10,000, it can lead to pulmonary anthrax, septicemia, with a mortality rate close to 100%, making it an excellent pathogen for biological weapons. The Japanese Unit 731 used anthrax bacteria for research,” Wang added.
The use of anthrax bacteria as a biological weapon garnered worldwide attention during the 2001 American anthrax bioterrorism attacks, where 22 individuals were infected after coming into contact with anthrax spore powder sent through the mail, resulting in five deaths.