June 7th 2024.
On a quiet Christmas Eve in Texas, a rancher sadly discovered that one of his lambs had died unexpectedly. Wanting to make use of the meat, the man, who was in his fifties or sixties, decided to butcher the lamb himself. Little did he know, this decision would lead to a serious and unexpected health scare.
Eleven days after butchering and consuming the lamb, the rancher began experiencing troubling symptoms. He noticed a black scab on his right wrist, as well as blisters and swelling on his arm. Along with a fever and high white blood cell count, it was clear that something was seriously wrong. Despite receiving three days of antibiotic treatment, his condition did not improve.
At first, the doctors did not suspect anthrax as the culprit. However, when the rancher failed to respond to treatment and his symptoms persisted, they eventually diagnosed him with anthrax. Thankfully, after one week in the hospital, he was able to make a full recovery and return home.
This case caught the attention of investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who were curious about how the rancher had contracted the rare disease. Typically, anthrax outbreaks in animals occur during hot and dry weather in the summer, not in the winter. The CDC states that anthrax is a serious and infectious disease caused by a specific type of bacteria and can be spread to humans through contact with infected animal products.
According to a report published by the CDC, the lamb in question had appeared healthy and showed no signs of disease before its untimely death. The rancher and another individual had prepared and cooked the meat, and five people had eaten it. However, only the rancher became ill with anthrax, while the others did not experience any symptoms.
The report notes that the rancher was suspected to have contracted anthrax from the lamb, and the other people who ate it were not at risk. Despite this, the rancher was not the only one affected on the ranch. During his hospital stay, two ewes on his farm also died suddenly, and both had signs of bleeding from their eyes and nose. The report states that there was a strong suspicion that these deaths were also linked to anthrax.
The identity of the rancher has not been released, but his experience serves as a reminder of the dangers of handling and consuming animal products without proper precautions. It also highlights the importance of further investigation and understanding of this rare but serious disease.
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