Anthrax Camel Kills Eight

In a good deed gone wrong eight Afghans who ate an infected camel as part of a religious celebration died of what health experts suspect is a rare case of naturally occurring anthrax.

As well as the eight who died, ten others fell sick.

Two men who owned the camel in a remote area along the border with Iran tried to sell a sick camel but nobody bought it strangely enough, according to Ghulam Dastagir Azad, the governor of Nimroz province.

So the men killed the wretched animal and generously distributed the meat to needy families, as is the custom during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Dr. Abdullah Fahiman adviser to Afghanistan's health minister said, "Maybe we should change the custom to eating only healthy animals" and was promptly stoned by an angry mob.