Distribution and Incidence
Anthrax is widely distributed throughout the world, but there are distinct differences in incidence and in species affected among the various continents and countries. Outbreaks in animals in Europe (mainly cattle) and in Asia (sheep and goats) heavily outweigh those in the United States and Africa, whereas Australia and Canada are rarely affected.
Extensive enzootic areas with a constant presence of infection include China, Ethiopia, and Iran, and, in the Americas, Mexico and some South American countries. Available data suggest an annual average total of some 10,000 outbreaks throughout the world; for Great Britain the annual total between the two world wars ranged from 400 to 700, mostly very minor outbreaks. Since then there appears to have been a gradual reduction in incidence, helped in Great Britain by the introduction in 1919 of the Anthrax Prevention Act, forbidding importation of certain types of potentially contaminated material. Since World War II the number of fatal cases in human beings has been substantially reduced following the introduction of antibiotic therapy.In countries such as Italy and Russia, a close correlation has existed between the seasonal incidence of the disease in people and in animals, with a rise during the hot summer months reflecting the seasonal changes in temperature, humidity, and vegetation favoring spread and reproduction of the bacillus.
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