By: Las Vegas Now Staff
The Centers For Disease Control are investigating the case of a dog with Anthrax found here in the valley.
Metro's Department of Homeland Security and the Southern Nevada Health District were called out to the Animal Emergency Clinic near Patrick and Pecos because a dog may have been exposed to Anthrax. A manager at the animal hospital said that there was never a danger to the public because this type of Anthrax is not the airborne kind of Anthrax, which is even more dangerous.
Maggie Howes treated the dog at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday inside the animal clinic. She says the dog was bloated, and they took a sample of fluid from inside the dog's belly. After some tests, the sample appeared to be infected with anthrax. That's when they called investigators.
“At that point, we were able to isolate a bacteria that looks similar to Anthrax. We don't know if that's what it was, there are several other bacterium that look exactly the same, so at this point we don't have any confirmation from the CDC,” said Howes.
She says the dog lived with his owner on a large lot near the edge of the city and had a history of eating anything it could find. Hospital staff and the dog's owner were interviewed to make sure none of them were exposed. But even if they were, this kind of Anthrax exposure is treatable, if it was indeed Anthrax. That still has yet to be determined.
However, the dog did die, and they are preparing to cremate it. Once again, hospital staff said there was no public danger. It was not the weaponized airborne form of Anthrax, it was a bacteria.
While it is unknown how the dog came in contact with the Anthrax, it is pretty common in the soil out here in the southwest. So the dog eats something off the ground, it has dirt on it – the dog then ingests the Anthrax.
