HARBIN, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Fourteen cutaneous anthrax cases have been confirmed in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, local authorities said Friday.

One of the 14 patients has been cured and discharged from hospital, the information office of the provincial government told a press briefing.

The epidemic is under control and the patients have been under effective treatment, it said.

Local authorities are examining the pathogens. A total of 818 sheep in the affected and high-risk areas in Huanan and Yilan counties have been culled.

Cutaneous, or skin, anthrax is the least serious form of the disease. It is usually contracted when a person with a cut or sore on their skin comes into direct, unprotected contact with anthrax spores on a sick or dead animal.

The Heilongjiang Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau has sent three expert teams to handle the situation. Meanwhile, it has sent 112,500 ml of anthrax vaccine to immunize livestock in the two counties .

The provincial health authorities also have sent experts to investigate the infections in a bid to roll out more effective control and prevention measures.