Suspected anthrax outbreak kills 107 hippos in Namibia's biggest game parks

Windhoek : A suspected anthrax outbreak has killed 107 hippos in one of Namibia's biggest game parks in just one week, The park's Deputy Director Apollinaris Kannyinga on Sunday confirmed the deaths at Bwabwata National Park n the Zambezi region, Xinhua reported.

Kannyinga said the first 10 deaths were reported on October 1 but had risen by the end of the week. "We suspect an anthrax outbreak, but our veterinary is still yet to confirm that," he said.

According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, Anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax is most common in wild and domestic animals but can also be seen in humans exposed to tissue from infected animals, contaminated animal products or directly to B anthracis spores under certain conditions.

Depending on the route of infection, host factors, and potentially strain-specific factors,anthrax can have several different clinical presentations. In herbivores, anthrax commonly presents as an acute septicemia with a high fatality rate, often accompanied by hemorrhagic lymphadenitis.

He also said that this was the first time such a deadly outbreak has hit Namibia. Before the outbreak, Namibia had an estimated 1,300 hippos.