ZIMBABWEAN health staff have begun a mass anthrax campaign after at least 15 people contracted the disease in central Zimbabwe, apparently after butchering infected cows. Local media said the latest outbreak was first noticed in cattle in early October, with the first human case reported on October 20. The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation said a “massive vaccination” campaign had begun. The radio report also accused white farmers of spreading the disease to derail a pact which the government reached with Commonwealth ministers last month to end political violence in exchange for help with the redistribution of white-owned farmland to the black majority. Without giving any evidence for the claim, the radio said: “It’s the work of white farmers to derail the Abuja accord.” – AFP
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