AT least 15 people have contracted anthrax in central Zimbabwe, the state-run Herald reported, apparently after butchering infected cows. The disease which has spread fear through the United States because of its use as a biological weapon periodically breaks out in Zimbabwe, where it can naturally spread from cattle to people. The former white-minority government in colonial Rhodesia has been accused of using the deadly disease as a weapon in the liberation war. The disease killed more than 10 000 people during the 1970s war, according to estimates by western scientists. In December 2000, nine people died in an anthrax outbreak in villages about 100 kilometers west of Harare. The latest outbreak was first noticed in cattle in early October, with the first human case reported on October 20, Midlands provincial medical director Christopher Zishiri told the paper. Of the 15 people suffering from anthrax, two are in serious condition and are receiving treatment at a hospital in the central town of Kwekwe. – AFP