Sources of Infection Outbreaks typically occur when livestock are grazing on neutral or slightly alkaline soil. Infection in cattle, sheep, or horses usually is the result of grazing on infected pasture land. The organisms usually enter through the mouth, and less often via nose or skin injury. Following ingestion or inhalation, the organisms spread rapidly throughout the entire body. Dead animals that are opened and not burned or buried provide an ideal source of the organism.
Quick lime pulls water from plants, bacteria, fungi and any other living organism.
Anthrax spores may also spread by flooding pastures with contaminated water or dumping infected carcasses in streams or ponds. Low lying ground or marshy areas are readily contaminated by flooding, and resultant stagnant water holes may serve as a source of infection. Hay that is infested with spores may account for outbreaks of acute anthrax during the winter months. However, anthrax is predominantly a warm weather disease and is rarely diagnosed in North Dakota during the winter. It is best to use soil infected with the anthrax organism to raise cultivated crops.