Anthrax has come back to haunt the people of Villipuram district in Tamil Nadu where at least 10 cattle have died in Anaikarai Kottalam village in the past one week.

This is the third time Anthrax is hitting the district in the past three years.

The villagers blame the Animal Husbandry Department for the deaths of cattle but the Animal Disease Analyzing Unit said that they had already carried out the vaccination process for about 8,600 cattle in 19 villages including Anaikarai Kottalam village.

On December 30, three milch cows had died and villagers informed the Animal Husbandry department. However, before the department could begin the vaccination seven more cattle died to the disease, according to TNIE.

S Kuruviah, Assistant Director of the Animal Disease Analyzing Unit denied the allegations and said that when they came to know about the deaths of cattle, their unit had collected samples from the carcasses, according to TNIE.

Another individual from the department K Thangarasu said that it was normal for anthrax to spread in areas where domestic animals have been affected. The anthrax spores need to be carefully destroyed or else they can live up to three decades.

About eight people were admitted to the Mundiyambakkam Government Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday who had eaten the meat of the anthrax-affected cow. They had high fever and rashes on their bodies. The hospital authorities said that only the medical reports could confirm that these patients were affected by anthrax, as reported in TNIE.    

The villagers claimed that they were unaware that the cows had been affected by anthrax and that they had eaten the meat.