Washington (H24N). Minnesota officials say six members of a farm family are undergoing treatment for anthrax exposure, after discovering that beef they had consumed came from an animal infected with the disease.

The state department of health says the case came to light after one of the Roseau County family’s cows collapsed and died last month. After it was determined that animal had anthrax, family members disclosed they had eaten beef from another of their animals in July. Tests revealed that animal was diseased as well.

Two members of the family, an adult and a teen-ager, reportedly contracted symptoms of gastrointestinal anthrax illness, but have recovered. The rest of the family is being treated with antibiotics and a vaccine to prevent the disease from appearing later from latent spores in the lymph nodes.

Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax most commonly occurs in warm-blooded animals, but can also infect humans. While anthrax contracted through the respiratory system is almost always fatal, skin and gastrointestinal anthrax can be treated.

Officials say the Roseau County cases do not present a danger to the general public, since the meat involved was slaughtered privately. They do admit that cases of anthrax in the animal population have been unusually prevalent in the region’s cattle herds this year.

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