Authorities in NSW are investigating an anthrax outbreak, saying its discovery in the Upper Hunter region is surprising but not suspicious.
The potentially deadly disease has been detected on four farms at Rouchel, near Scone in the Upper Hunter region, since Christmas Eve, and about 10 animals havedied.
A Department of Primary Industries (DPI) spokesman said up to six naturally occurring anthrax outbreaks were expected in NSW every year, but they generally occurred within a known area in the state's west.
"We've got veterinary investigations and epidemiologists working on the case ... we are surprised that it turned up in Scone," DPI spokesman Brett Fifield said today.
"Traditionally in NSW, there is an anthrax belt where these things occur, so we'll be looking as to how this occurred at Scone, but bear in mind that anthrax can live in the ground ... for many many years, in some cases 100.
"So this could be somewhat of a sleeper from the past."
Mr Fifield said vaccination teams from the state's west had been dispatched to the Rouchel properties and a containment program was being rolled out.
"Around 10 animals have died and our vaccination campaign is now well under way, stopping the spread of the disease," he said.
"We are receiving excellent cooperation from the (farm) owners, and we will continue to work with them to ensure that any more mortalities are minimised."
Anthrax is a bacterial infection that, without treatment, is deadly in animals and humans.
Since 1982, there have been only three reported cases of people in NSW contracting anthrax.
