Situation with anthrax in Kazakhstan not critical - Agriculture Ministry

Serik Ibrayev, Director of the Strategic Planning and Analysis Department of the Agriculture Ministry, described the situation with anthrax in the country as uncritical at the extraordinary session of the Meat Union in Astana on Monday.

"The situation, in my opinion, is not critical, yet, there are certain issues. For instance, health authorities in Karaganda city failed to respond to the problem in time. The patient [later diagnosed with anthrax] was left without proper medical treatment for a week. As a result, two patients died," said Ibrayev.

He also revealed that Kazakhstan is negotiating with the veterinary supervision service of the Russian Federation the possibility of lifting the ban on Kazakh meat products.

"As for the meat ban, we are negotiating that issue with Russia and will solve the problem in the nearest future," Ibrayev added.