Keonjhar: The death of an adult female elephant, suspected to be caused by anthrax, at a forest-side village in the district has spread panic among local residents.

The carcass of the 20-year-old elephant was recovered from near Pitaspala village in Hadagada forest range on Thursday. Preliminary diagnosis by veterinary surgeons suggest that it was a case of anthrax.

As a precautionary measure, the forest department has undertaken a sensitisation drive and urged farmers to avoid using the spot from where the elephant's carcass was recovered.

"The villagers have been asked to stop grazing their cattle in the area for at least a week," said Anandpur forest division divisional forest officer Ajit Kumar Satpathy.

The forest department has started an immunisation drive to vaccinate domesticated animals in the village.

The animal was buried after applying chemicals for quick decay of the body.

"Cremation of the infected body was a better option to check the possible spread of the anthrax bacteria. However, going by local tradition, the forest department opted to bury it," Satpathy said.

"Anthrax is an air-borne disease. So, we are sensitising the people to prevent it from spreading," he said.

Howerver, the elephant was buried without a post-mortem examination. According to protocol of the animal resources department, there is no autopsy of animals that die from anthrax to prevent the spread of the bacteria.

Blood samples taken from the carcass's ear-tip were sent to the Animal Husbandry College of the Odisha University of Agriculture Technology for a pathological investigation.

"There were ample physical indications that led us to believe that the animal died of anthrax. There was nasal bleeding, which is indicative of anthrax infection. There were no other external injuries on the animal," the divisional forest officer said.

The village from where the death was reported is close to the elephants' habitation corridor.