Anthrax found in Ransom County herds

Four of Sherman Rasmusson's beef cows lay dead where they fell, spread out across a hilly pasture last Friday afternoon as Mark Lewis, veterinarian with Hovland Veterinary Clinic in Lisbon, made his way to each carcass. The rest of the herd crowded together and watched from a distance while Lewis gathered blood samples from the dead animals, which were found in a pasture about one mile south of Fort Ransom.

Lewis said, as of Friday, 14 beef cattle herds in Ransom County had been confirmed with anthrax. The first confirmed case was June 30, about nine miles northwest of Lisbon. An AP story released Friday, July 15 claims there are reported cases in southern Barnes County, and possible cases being investigated in eastern LaMoure and Dickey counties.

Symptoms include lethargy and a temperature of 104-106 degrees, but a farmer or rancher might not notice a grazing animal has become sick because within a few hours of showing symptoms, the animal is dead.

Lewis said the live animals are currently being vaccinated with penicillin. By Friday afternoon he had already administered around 5000 doses throughout Ransom County, and he was waiting for 3000 more to come via UPS by noon Saturday.

Lewis said a vaccination likely won't save an animal that's already contracted the bacteria; however, anthrax cannot be spread between animals, so those that are well will have time to develop an immune response.

In cases of anthrax, Lewis said one sure way to recognize the cause of death is that the blood won't clot. He said if he suspects anthrax, he never opens the animal's body, but rather takes the blood sample from the animal's jugular vein. He then sends the samples to the North Dakota State University lab for formal confirmation.

Lewis said in the current Ransom County cases, the animals most likely contracted anthrax from the soil. When grazing, an animal might pick up some dirt with the grass. He said he's seen animals come down with anthrax in this way before, but in isolated cases. "This is sort of bizarre," Lewis said.

Cases of soil-borne anthrax show up in years with either extreme dry or extreme wet conditions. In dry years, when the vegetation is dried up or stunted, or top soil is blown away, an animal might pick up more dirt because they are eating closer to the ground.

In the current cases, this past spring's excessive rain made conditions right to bring the bacteria out of the ground and up to the surface where cattle or other animals could pick it up.

Lewis said the anthrax bacteria has been in the ground since the 1800s. It most likely originated from buffalo herds that contracted it and died. When their carcasses decomposed into the ground, the anthrax went into the ground as well.

Lewis said anthrax is a bacteria that virtually never goes away. Once in the soil, it can exist for more than 100 years, or as Lewis said, as long as we live, our children live, and grandchildren live. That's why the dead animals will be burned rather than buried.

Lewis said the soil-borne anthrax can affect any animal, such as deer or buffalo, that grazes or somehow gets the infected soil into its food. It is also possible some animals may have ingested the bacteria from the creek water they drink; however, the chances of it affecting fish in the Sheyenne is slim. Even though many creeks run into the river, the dilution of water is too much for the bacteria to affect fish or humans.

Humans usually contract anthrax by inhaling the spores. The threat of anthrax deaths in people after the 2001 terrorist attacks reinforced a fear of the disease. However, Lewis said those cases would involve a potent powder form made in a laboratory and specifically designed to kill humans. People contracting anthrax from the soil is extremely rare.

If a person got the blood of an infected animal in an open cut, for example, they could contract a skin form of anthrax. "It's almost never fatal," Lewis said, "but it's plenty scary."