Urgent call for farmers to dispose of dead cattle as disease spreads in floodwaters, killing one person and infecting 10 others
- Farmers have been urged to dispose dead cattle killed from floodwaters
- Deadly germs have spread killing one and affecting ten with melioidosis
- The rotting carcasses pose a health risk to clean up crews and water supplies
Farmers have been urged to swiftly dispose of dead cattle as their rotting carcasses are spreading disease in floodwaters, killing one person and infecting ten others.
Dead cattle, sheep and wildlife have been left rotting following a once-in-a-century monsoonal deluge that saw large swathes of far-north Queensland under water, with farmers having difficulty reaching and disposing of the carcasses.
One person has died and ten people have been affected by melioidosis, wa disase which comes from floodwaters heavily contaminated with dirt and bacteria.
Half a million cattle have been killed in the flood crisis from Cloncurry to Julia Creek, after five previous years of drought.
Farmers have been urged to dispose of dead cattle as deadly germs spread from floodwaters
One person has died and ten people have been affected by melioidosis, which comes from floodwaters heavily contaminated with dirt and bacteria
The death is the third flood-related fatality after two Palm Island men died at the peak of the Townsville floods eight days ago.
The rotting carcasses pose a health risk to clean-up crews and to local water supplies in flood-affected communities.
Share this article
State Agriculture Minister Mark Furner has warned people to beware of bacterial infections when disposing the dead animals.
Exhausted graziers are become increasingly concerned about the financial impact of the floods, which is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the parliament on Tuesday the government was working closely with rural communities to help affected graziers.
'The one thing we will do is ensure that there is a recovery and restoration plan for north Queensland cattle farmers to be able to return to the prosperity,' he said.
The rotting carcasses pose a health risk to clean-up crews and to local water supplies in flood-affected communities
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
