Officials: US man caught anthrax from animal skins, no terrorism suspected

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An African musician and a family member both contracted a non-contagious form of anthrax, apparently from imported animal skins used to make drums, Connecticut officials said Wednesday. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton described one of the individuals as a renowned African drummer and drum maker who stored untanned animal hides obtained from areas of the world where anthrax is common. A spokesman for the state Department of Public Health, Bill Gerrish, said a second member of the same family also had the disease. Both apparently had the cutaneous form of anthrax, which is not contagious and can usually be treated with antibiotics.