At the moment, 10 citizens are hospitalized after consuming contaminated beef. The poisoning occurred in Bayara, the first communal section of Petit-Goâve, the Haiti Libre digital newspaper reported.

According to medical literature, anthrax is an infectious disease caused specifically by the Bacillus anthracis.

The bacterium that causes anthrax is spore-formers, very resistant structures that allow them to survive in the environment for long periods.

It is a zoonotic bacterium, i.e. it can be transmitted from animals to humans. In this case, its natural hosts are ruminants like cows, sheep and goats, and also some game animals.

Humans can be infected by direct contact with the sick animal or from products originating from an anthrax specimen.

Once the spores are ingested, inhaled or enter the body through cuts in the skin, they can multiply and produce extremely potent toxins.

In cutaneous anthrax, an itchy sore appears on the exposed area and changes color to black.

It may be accompanied by other symptoms like headache and muscle pain, fever and vomiting.

The gastrointestinal variant initially present as food poisoning that worsens, produces intense abdominal pain, blood vomiting and severe diarrhea.

While the pulmonary variant, the most dangerous of all, has an initial symptomatology similar to a common cold, which evolves into severe respiratory distress and shock.

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