Burkina Faso/Fight against Bacterial Anthrax: The General Directorate of Veterinary Services Prepares for Battle

In Burkina Faso, a workshop on the development of awareness materials for the fight against bacterial anthrax has been bringing together health specialists and animal health professionals since Monday, July 10. The workshop is organized by the General Directorate of Veterinary Services.

Technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal and Fishery Resources, technicians responsible for the environment, and the Ministry of Health are participating in the workshop.

This meeting aims to identify tools for awareness and coordinated communication to better combat bacterial anthrax. Bacterial anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which is deadly to animals and humans.

During the workshop, key messages will be developed for each category of stakeholders, along with standardized operational notification procedures to establish case definitions for the disease surveillance system.

Rassablga Dominique Sawadogo, Director-General of Veterinary Services, emphasized that in addition to being deadly, anthrax, also known as splenic fever, causes enormous economic losses in the livestock sector and is a public health problem.

This workshop, which is financially supported by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) through a financial support agreement for the fight against bacterial anthrax, will conclude on Thursday, July 13.

It is worth noting that the disease is very rare in humans but is most commonly observed in herbivorous animals.