SOFIA, Bulgaria
Four people have been detained in connection with supplying anthrax-tainted meat to retail stores in Bulgaria's Varna district.
The suspects were arrested Wednesday evening, and will remain in detention for 24 hours, the police said.
Health officials also launched an emergency operation to disinfect all anthrax-prone retail shops and restaurants in the district, Varna Governor Stoyan Pasev said.
Twenty-three businesses suspected of using anthrax-laced meat have been shut, Pasev added.
Samples taken from the closed shops and restaurants have been sent for analysis, and the lab results are expected to come in in two days, he said.
A 53-year-old man and his cow died from anthrax Saturday. The man is said to have passed meat from the cow to an illegal meat processing factory before dumping the remains at a landfill site.
The infected meat was reportedly sold around Provadia, Karnobat and Varna and the carcass was dumped in Mlada Gvardia, Bulgarian National Radio said.
Health authorities in Varna put 28 people in quarantine, all of whom tested negative for anthrax, officials told Radia FOCUS.
Anthrax is an infectious disease that can enter the body through skin contact, respiration or ingestion.
