U.K. anthrax death attributed to handling West African drums
One source of anthrax infection is untreated animal hides; in West Africa, untreated skins of cattle, sheep, and goats are used to make drums; musicians who use these drums are susceptible to infection; in the U.S., three cases of drum-related anthrax infection were reported
The 50-year-old man who died in 2006 from anthrax probably caught the disease while “playing or handling West African drums,” the BBC reports. Christopher Norris worked with untreated animal hides at his home at Black Lodge in Stobs in the Scottish Borders. An inquiry has concluded he succumbed to the first case of inhalation anthrax seen in the United Kingdom for more than a century and was most likely infected while participating in a drumming session in the village hall in Smailholm. Dr. Andrew Riley, director of public health, reported: “His short illness was characterized by an atypical presentation of what world experts considered to be inhalation anthrax. The speed of onset of the illness and resulting sudden death serve to illustrate the potential devastating impact of this disease.” The health authority response to the case — which involved identifying 150 people “at high risk of exposure to the disease,” giving antibiotics to 70 of those, and disinfecting two properties — cost £460,000. In the end, however, Dr. Riley said no one else who attended the suspect drumming session was infected.
Anthrax is caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. It is commonly seen in cattle, sheep, and goats, but while it can be passed from infected animals to humans, it is not transmitted between people.
The U.K. case is similar to the case of two people in Danbury, Connecticut, who in September were diagnosed with anthrax. One of them is an African drummer “thought to have contracted anthrax from drum skins,” the New York Times reported. The house where the pair apparently contracted the disease was “being used to store untanned animal hides obtained from areas of the world where anthrax is known to be common.” The incident was the second in two years in the same area involving African drummers and anthrax.
