Turkey’s opposition has demanded a parliamentary inquiry after dozens of livestock were killed by anthrax, which has also sickened people, a lawmaker told dpa on Tuesday.
Anthraz is a dangerous disease caused by a type of bacteria named Bacillus anthracis, first detected at a facility in the capital Ankara on Aug. 28.
The government said 146 animals died due to anthrax from a shipment of 4,000 livestock imported from Brazil.
“We have been informed by sources from the port of Mersin that the animals were already infected when they arrived in Turkey.
“This clearly shows the government has ignored required health checks before the animals left Brazil,’’ Sezgin Tanrikulu of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) told dpa.
Cases were also detected in Istanbul as Turks marked Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, when tens of thousands of sheep, cows and goats are slaughtered.
Spores containing anthrax bacteria can be found naturally in soil, while the disease commonly affects domestic and wild animals around the world.
Anthrax usually affects cattle and spreads to humans through contaminated meat or occupational exposure.
Agriculture Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said that 48 people were hospitalised in Silivri outside Istanbul for checks, state news agency Anadolu reported.
All were discharged.
The opposition warned of the disease spreading across Turkey and blamed the government for negligence in health checks on imported livestock.
In its most common form, the bacterium causes a skin infection resulting in lesions.
If inhaled, anthrax spores can cause pneumonia.
Infections contracted by eating contaminated meat trigger inflammation of the intestinal tract, vomiting and diarrhoea.
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