In brief
Laboratory tests confirm that 28 hippopotamuses died from anthrax in Virunga National Park’s Semuliki River over the last month, according to park officials and Al Jazeera reports. Park staff are increasing surveillance and warning local communities to avoid dead carcasses, while an eyewitness in Vitshumbi noted growing concern. A separate unverified source suggests the death toll may be closer to 30, and the outbreak comes amid ongoing Ebola and armed conflict in eastern DR Congo.
Last week, Virunga National Park officials confirmed that 28 hippopotamuses had died from anthrax in the Semuliki River, an area west of the park’s main zone. Laboratory tests traced the death toll to the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, officials said.
The park released a press statement saying it was monitoring the affected area, safely handling carcasses, and urging nearby residents to avoid contact with dead or sick animals. The statement emphasized that anthrax can be transmitted to humans through contact or consumption of contaminated meat.
“Teams are monitoring the affected area, recording new cases of mortality and coordinating the safe handling and disposal of carcasses,” a park spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “People living in the affected area and its surroundings are being informed about the outbreak; they are advised not to touch, skin or consume animals found dead”.
An eyewitness, Michael Kambale, a resident of Vitshumbi near the river, told Al Jazeera that the deaths first appeared in mid‑September and had caused “increasing fear” among the community.
A later report from the Tanzanian Times claimed the death toll may be closer to 30 hippos, but the outlet did not provide verification for the higher figure.
The anthrax outbreak occurs in a region already besieged by a major Ebola epidemic, ongoing armed conflict, and environmental pressures such as drought, all of which heighten wildlife vulnerability, the park officials said.
