15th April 2013, 06:54 PM
Hi Dinosaur - I think there was a huge oubreak of anthrax in central Africa in the 1980's. It seemed to kill hippos more than anything else. I'm not sure of the numbers of historic outbreaks in UK - it is a spore so is airborne. I guess when animal skins were treated in heavily populated urban areas then there was more chance of it being breathed in. Animals and skins are treated with fungicides now so I guess that would also keep numbers down. The places where anthrax spores are likely to lurk are comprehensively dealt with by quarantine, incineration etc. Workers likely to be infected - those working with skins, farm labourers etc. can be vaccinated. Unfortunately it is still nearly 100% fatal once caught.