Agriculture Victoria on Friday said the affected property was immediately quarantined, the carcases disposed of and the remaining cattle on the property are undergoing vaccination.
The outbreak occurred some time last week, but Agriculture Victoria would not tell Country News when it happened, what sort of cattle were involved, whether neighbours had been informed and what other measures had been put in place.
Country News has also contacted the agriculture minister’s office for more information.
Outbreaks of anthrax have previously been confirmed in this area and sporadic cases are not unusual in northern Victoria.
Anthrax is an infectious bacterial disease of animals, caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis.
Although the disease usually appears during the warmer months, cases of anthrax may occur at any time of year and in locations where the disease may not have been recognised for years.
Cattle and sheep are infected through ingesting spores in contaminated soils, while browsing stock may ingest the pathogen on contaminated grass.
Once ingested, the bacteria produce potent toxins that cause the clinical signs of anthrax including fever, lack of appetite, lethargy or sudden death, often with bleeding visible at the nose, mouth and/or anus.
Anthrax is a notifiable disease.
The last major outbreak in the Goulburn Valley occurred in 1997 in the Stanhope and Tatura areas, when 202 cattle died and authorities instituted a mass vaccination campaign reaching 78,000 cattle.
Other smaller cases were reported across northern Victoria in 2018, 2015 and 2009.
The anthrax spores can survive in the soil for many years and the outbreaks appear to be following the route of a historic cattle droving trail when anthrax was common.
