7 in Capira infected with deadly cattle disease

Seven people in Capira are suspected of being infected with from bovine brucellosis , a deadly disease detected in cattle from six farms the area and in Darien.

The cases include two children , aged two and six, and a 17 year old, and were detected after the Ministry of Health ( MoH) took blood samples from 22 residents of the community of Monte Oscuro , in the village of Cermak , to see if they had zoonotic disease ( transmitted by animals to humans) .

Bredio Velazco , Veterinarian and Animal Health deputy director of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA ) , confirmed to FOX Report that there are six affected animal farms , but denied that it is passed to humans.
The secretary general of the MoH , Félix Bonilla reported that they are awaiting for results of confirmatory tests from Gorgas Memorial Hospital reports La Prensa,
The 22 examined in October are working on the farms El Pensamiento and Los Mangos, located 30 minutes from downtown Capira.
The arrival of brucellosis to cattle in Capira Resume took place in October, when 72 cattle were slaughtered on three farms , two dairy and one meat , in Monte Oscuro , and the valley was quarantined.
Despite the measure, which banned the movement of cattle, Velazco confirmed that two animals were infected with brucellosis in Darien , on a farm whose owner is the same as that of one in Capira , which has raised questions about the effectiveness of the quarantine .
" 129 animals were sacrificed ," Velazco told local television.
MIDA REACTION
The official did not seem concerned about said La Prensa. "I foresaw more cases," he said. "We are mitigating the situation ," he added.
But for the Association of Dairy Producers ( Aprogalpa ) , the cases are “worrying" because it is a highly contagious disease and especially as the origin of the outbreak is still unknown.
The last time Panama had sick animals from bovine brucellosis was in 2004, and human cases in 2009 , according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
A report was sent to the OIE , in October, detailing the slaughter of 72 cattle slaughtered in Capira. But the notification to the OIE – binding international rules on transparency , with the total number of 129 sacrifices was not met .
In Resume quarantine is maintained, but is allowed to market milk pasteurizing companies said Luis Solano , regional coordinator for Animal Health Measure .
The spread of brucellosis to humans is through consumption of unpasteurized milk, undercooked meat or contact with secretions from infected animals .
It produces abortions in animals and in humans , fever , weakness and general pain. "It is an extremely infectious zoonosis " warns the OIE.
A La Prensa investigation earlier this year revealed that the blood tests showed a person infected with brucellosis. It also published details of the secret slaughter of bovine tuberculosis animals in Anton, Cocle.