On the morning of Monday, May 13, corpses of livestock which died from anthrax were delivered from Jasenovac to the Croatian Institute of Veterinary Medicine in the center of Zagreb in an unprotected, ordinary, plastic bucket. Even though it was immediately determined that this was a case of anthrax, the experts at the Institute of Veterinary Medicine told no one for three days, including the owners of the affected animals, instead, the farmers were left to dispose of the corpses on their own, possibly exposing themselves and others to the deadly disease. Even today when it is clear to the citizens in Jasenovac, where over 20 sheep died from the disease, that this was a case of the “black boil” as it is called in the villages, no special measures were taken to isolate the affected areas and to protect the citizens there, no vaccinations of animals or people took place, no quarantine issued, and no studies conducted to determine if other animals had become afflicted or whether other people had come into contact with the contaminated animals. Only the Kukić family, owners of the dead sheep, were vaccinated.

The Croatian Veterinary Institute is covering up the fact that animals infected with anthrax were brought there; all the while the disease may be spreadingThe news of an anthrax discovery, the death of animals and the danger to people is still being treated as strictly confidential by the authorities. In order to even discover what the cause of death was, the Kukić’s had to cut the corpses open themselves, take out the organs and bring them to Zagreb, all without even the most basic protection for their own health. The Institute of Veterinary Medicine determined that the deaths were due to anthrax, an illness which in recent months has been in the news as one of the most dangerous and fatal biological weapons. However, the Institute did not want to make this finding public. However, it is particularly curious that anthrax case in Jasenovac was discovered only 100 meters from a field where organic food is produced, and plants can be significant carriers of anthrax spores. However, just what the danger is to Zagreb and its million residents, just how many people have eaten contaminated meat or this organic food, and just how many people came into contact with the contaminated animals – are questions which have yet to be answered.

When his sheep started dying, Gojko Kukić contacted his local vet, who had no idea what the cause was. Nor did Marica Cikojević, the veterinary inspector from Novska. They suggested that Kukić should take the animals’ organs for inspection to the Institute of Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb. He did as they suggested and with the help of his son Rajko and his wife Branislava, they cut open the corpses, took out their organs, placed them in a plastic pail, put them in the car and drove them to Zagreb. The organs infected with anthrax, were thus transported to Zagreb at high May temperatures in an ordinary kitchen pail.

Nacional has learned that the cause of death of the sheep and goats was confirmed last Monday, the same day the organs were brought to the Institute. However, the Kukić’s did not receive word for days. They were informed by Dr. Branko Šoštarić only on May 16, nine days after the first sheep had died and three days after the Institute confirmed the cause. However, they likely would not have found out even then had they not called the Institute themselves and asked. The public, still today has not been informed of the case of anthrax in Croatia, nor have any precautionary measures been taken. True, all the Kukić family members were looked at and vaccinated, but no one else in the surrounding areas of Jasenovac received any medication or vaccinations. Also, even though all their livestock has been vaccinated, and a veterinarian comes by each day with new doses of the vaccine, no other livestock in the Jasenovac area have received treatment, nor have they been checked for possible exposure to the disease.

In addition to these twenty sheep and goats, six horses recently died in the wetland area Lonjsko Polje. The official explanation for the deaths was exposure to pesticides, though at that time, there was no anti-mosquito spraying in effect. Our source stated that anthrax spores can live in soil for years, and become activated only when ingested, which obviously occurred with the sheep, and may be the case with the dead horses. Thirty years ago, cases of anthrax were recorded in the Jasenovac area, and it is not known whether at that time all the afflicted animals were incinerated or whether some were simply buried at local sites where livestock are buried. Further, there are no written records as to whether any of the local residents were infected, which does not mean there were none, since there are also no written records of cases of anthrax which surface from time to time in Croatia, but rarely is it known when and where they occur.

Even though the infected livestock were located only 500 meters from the center of Jasenovac and the monuments located there, the authorities did not find it necessary to put the entire area under quarantine until the source of the anthrax was located and it was determined that no threat was posed to people, livestock or other animals. Unlike the Veterinary Institute, the Kukić’s are making no efforts to cover up the story, for they believe it is better to tell the truth and warn people about what is happening and so that they will be prepared if a similar case surfaces, a tactic obviously not favored by the authorities. Particularly unclear is the behaviour of the veterinary inspection when one taken into consideration that the land in the direct vicinity of the dead livestock is used to grow organic food. According to what the Kukić’s say, last year was the last time that the area was visited, and that due to common occurrences of trichinella, but this year, there were no controls by the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Kukić’s bought the sheep several years ago, after deciding to take up animal husbandry. These were first class sheep, and their best customers were local restaurants which offer roasted lamb on their menus. However, local residents often purchased lamb as well, to celebrate special occasions. One of the Kukić brothers states that the experts from the Veterinary Institute explained how cooked meat infected with anthrax is not dangerous, or rather that cooking or boiling kills all anthrax spores, and thus there is no danger of infection.

To date, the Kukić’s have still received no official statement concerning the illness, nor has the Jasenovac area been protected, or any investigation taken place to determine the source of the infection. While the Institute has kept quiet about the anthrax related deaths, the local veterinary inspectors likely did not know which illness was at issue, or if they did, how to react to such. That is, Gojko Kukić was first ordered to bury the dead sheep, which is not the recommended course of action for anthrax. Spores of such a dangerous and contagious disease can lives for years in soil and become active again upon ingestion. It is assumed that this is what happened in Jasenovac.

The second reason why the corpses are not to be buried concerns the water table, in which the spores could enter, thus being carried kilometers away. Jasenovac is at the very edge of the Lonjsko Polje wetland (a national park), and the Sava River runs right next to the area. Thus the underground water table is very high, and burying the corpses is definitely not the proper means of disposal. The only solution is incineration. Two days after Kukić buried the corpses, upon the orders of the Veterinary Institute, he was ordered to dig them back up again, but the inspector did not tell him why, or how this should be done. Kukić used a shovel to exhume the half-decomposed animals, however, he discovered that in the meantime, the water table had risen and that it would not be so simply to remove the corpses from the ground. It is impossible to determine just in what directions the anthrax spores have spread in since.

Last year, the whole world fell into a panic over anthrax which affects the lungs, the most serious form of this disease, after spores were sent in letters throughout the U.S. However, Croatian experts and leaders of the appropriate services – from the Veterinary Institute to the Croatian Office of Public Health – convinced the public that there was no reason for fear or panic, that Croatia is not a potential target for terrorists which might attack using biological weapons (anthrax is among the favorites). They also claimed that vaccines were in plentiful supply, and that more could be obtained in very short demand. Though the Kukić’s were not in danger of getting intestinal anthrax, which comes from eating undercooked infected meat, they certainly were in danger of getting skin anthrax, which can enter through open wounds or scratches in the skin. Furthermore, not only vaccination against anthrax is enough: three injections are required in a two week period, with 6, 12 and 18 month follow-ups, and continued annual vaccinations. And all those who come into contact with potentially contaminated animals should be vaccinated.

To date, no official word has come from the Veterinary Institute, nor has any statement been made by the Croatian Office for Public Health, the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Agriculture. Even though this deals with possible anthrax infection, the truth is that not one of the authorized agencies has taken any steps to prevent a potential spread of this disease. No one knows if there is other infected livestock, what the quality of milk is coming from the villages, nor what is being sold in Croatian butcher shops. Nacional’s source, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed that anthrax is not such a rare occurrence in Croatia, but that in most cases its discovery is simply covered up, so that nothing is known about what has been done to eradicate the sources of this disease and to prevent it from occurring again. Obviously, another attempt has been made to cover up the truth, for what other explanation is there for the silence from the Veterinary Institute, the Office for Public Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Heath, as well as from the sanitary inspectors, all of which have the appropriate jurisdiction and responsibility in this case.

The culprit in the U.S. Anthrax attack still at large

Bob Stevens, a 63 year old British journalist who worked in Florida for an American newspaper, was the first person to die of anthrax after 1976. Stevens died in early October 2001 and at first his death was not of much attention to the media. However, after another employee of the same media company died one week later, an investigation showed that anthrax had spread from the mailroom. Panic spread throughout the U.S. after the attacks on New York and Washington, particularly since the investigation showed that the anthrax had bent sent in letters to leading media houses throughout the country.

During the following month, another ten people died, primarily those working in mailrooms, and the U.S. had already exhausted its reserves of the antibiotic Cipro, which was administered to everyone who had come into potential contact with the spores. In addition, even though the letters suggested that Islam fundamentalists were the possible culprits, detailed analysis showed that the culprit was a white, middle-aged scientist, frustrated with the state system. However, eight months after the anthrax attack, he had still not been located.