Anthrax red alert to be lifted Thursday.

 Emboldened by the halt in anthrax spread, the government is likely to lift the red alert on Thursday, which was issued last month by the livestock department to combat the disease.

At the same time, investigations have been launched against certain vested interest groups suspected of scaremongering to hike poultry price.

Fisheries and livestock minister Abdul Latif Biswas told bdnews24.com on Wednesday: "The red alert may be lifted through a press conference on Thursday morning."

The minister alleged that the negative publicity regarding anthrax was in reality a conspiracy, saying, "Anthrax is not something to be overly worried over. It is a recurring phenomenon and each year a lot of cattle and birds are killed by the disease."

"But no one really bothered about it because there was no media coverage in the past", he said, adding, "this time, though, a vested quarter had tried to benefit from the scare by publicizing it."

The minister went on to draw a comparison of the anthrax spread this year with previous years, saying, "In 2008, 437 cows were affected by anthrax and 156 died. In 2009, 449 were affected and 114 died. This year, until now, only 104 cows have been infected of which 37 died. Another 11 cows were culled."

He also compared the anthrax toll in cows with other diseases like Badla, Khura (local term for Foot-and-mouth disease) and Peste des petits ruminants (PPR).

In 2008, 945 cows out of 1,346 infected by Badla, 203 cows out of 32,701 infected by Khura and 1,843 out of 36,842 infected with PPR died.

In 2009, 611 cows out of 1,123 infected by Badla, 6,020 cows out of around two and half lakhs infected by Khura, and 3,491 of out 53,519 infected with PPR died.

In the current year, until now, 89 out of 237 affected by Badla, 83 out of 4,135 affected by Khura and 231 out of 4,359 infected by PPR have died.

"The negative publicity this year was a deliberate attempt to frighten the people. It was publicised that all livestock including cows, goats, ducks and birds were infected by this disease. However, there were no reports of any hens being affected. This was done to reap benefits."

"No report of anthrax infection among livestock has reached us from middle of last month. So we have decided to withdraw the red alert as it is hampering other works of the ministry," he added.