More than 50 cows, sheep and horses have died of the worst anthrax explosion in France for two decades, according to officials warning against the lack of vaccines.
Authorities in the mountainous region of Hautes-Alpes, in southeastern France, said the infection, which could spread to humans and kill its malt form, spread in 28 fields since June.
Anthrax was spread by spores that can remain inactive for decades, even in the bodies of dead animals.
French veterinarians are struggling to contain the epidemics because the Spanish laboratory vaccine is closed in August for summer vacations.
"The state is talking with European partners to discuss the availability and purchase of vaccines" that other countries may be supplied with, said senior regional manager Agnès Chavanon on Sunday.
The cases of anthrax transmitted to humans are "very rare," says Christine Ortmans, a doctor with the ARS regional health agency.
No one reported an illness during the current uprising, he said.
Skin skin with anthrax that appears on the skin and is now the most common form of infection is rarely fatal if antibiotics are considered.
But the bacteria that causes it, the bacillus anthracis, produces a strong poison and is used as a biological weapon.
The highlight is a series of anthrax attacks, sent by mail, terrorized in the United States in 2001, a week after the September 11 assassination.
A specialized biological weapon committed suicide due to accusations of attacks, of which five people died and another 17 became ill.
Serge Cavalli, senior Hautes-Alpes official, said the animals were vaccinated by the affected farms in the region.
These blows are prohibited for production at least 21 days during disinfection of farms and to allow vaccinated animals to become immune.
All milk on the site is pasteurized and destroyed.
The last serious epidemic in France began in 2008, when anthrax spread in 23 fields, most of them in the east of Doubs.
The first case of the current uprising was noted on June 28 in the town of Montgardin, which killed six cows and from there to 12 others.
Cows that are affected by anthrax wrap in the stomach and bleed from their holes, often dying for less than 24 hours.
The disease is quite rare, although since 1999, more than 100 cases have been reported on farms in France, often in the hot summer after a long rain.
The ARS said that 103 people in the Hautes-Alpes region were identified as a possible interaction with infected animals, mainly farmers, veterinarians or slaughterhouses.
Half of them received preventive antibiotics, authorities said.