Two people died while eight others were left fighting for their lives after they ate meat infected with Anthrax at the Endonyo Rasha area in Narok South.
The sub-county veterinary officer Matthew Nchoko said the two deceased were males aged 42 and 24 years old, who had eaten the carcass of a sheep.
Nchoko confirmed that the eight other victims who had been rushed to Ngosuani Health Center were treated and discharged.
He warned the public against consuming meat that is not properly inspected and cooked to avoid causing such incidents.
“You should not eat meat from dead animals that are not properly inspected. The carcasses of livestock should be disposed of by burying them in deep holes to avoid infecting other animals or people,” he said.
Anthrax, he said, manifests in three forms namely respiratory form, digestive or as a sore that forms a black spot at the centre.
The veterinary doctor observed that the respiratory form is more fatal to humans as it causes difficulties in breathing while the digestive form causes diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach pains.
“The disease is treatable if the patients are rushed to the hospital for treatment immediately, they start developing the symptoms,” he said.
He said plans are underway to vaccinate all the livestock in the area against the disease and warned residents against touching or eating any dead livestock.
“The county government is putting measures to vaccinate all the livestock in the area. However, people should take personal caution and avoid eating or touching any dead animal,” he said.
The disease could have been caused by the presence of hundreds of wild animals that graze freely in the company of livestock, as the area borders the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Residents of the sub-county are pastoralists who depend on their livestock for survival.
