As news about the outbreak of anthrax continues to come from every corner of Turkey, healthcare associations in southeastern Diyarbakır province on Friday said a child died due to a gastrointestinal infection caused by anthrax-infected meat.
Doctors from a number of healthcare associations who gathered for a news conference in Diyarbakır said the child, who was 10 years old, was being treated at Dicle University’s Medical Faculty Hospital and expressed their concerns about a possible rise in the number of anthrax-related deaths.
The doctors said the case of the child, who came for treatment from Bitlis’s Güroymak district, has been proven by blood and stool tests to have been caused by anthrax.
More than 100 cattle in Bitlis recently died in one day from anthrax.
Anthrax was first found in cattle imported from Brazil before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, causing the death of 50 cattle on a farm in Ankara province.
Hospitals in İstanbul and Sivas also detected anthrax in nine people who were sent for medical screening.
According to reports in the Turkish media, the cattle import agreement with Brazil omitted a health inspection of the animals by Turkish officials.