Anthrax
outbreak affects hippos in the Kruger National Park
November 2012: The South African National Parks (SANParks) have revealed that
the anthrax outbreak that started in late August in the north of the Kruger
National Park (KNP) has claimed the lives of 30 hippopotamus in the Letaba and
Olifants River. Post mortems results from some of the carcases, suggest they
were infected by the bacteria.
Reynold
Thakhuli, spokesman for SANParks said a total of 30 hippo carcases have been
found up to now and Park Rangers are closely monitoring the situation.
"Members of the public are urged to report any sightings to the nearest
camp and not to touch the carcases. The State Veterinarians are busy examining
six carcases that were found over the weekend and will issue the results as
soon as they're available."
Spread
by vultures
Anthrax is a highly infectious disease of animals caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. "It is thought that the disease is spread mainly through vultures and blowflies. Vultures are immune against anthrax and they spread the disease by consuming contaminated meat from affected carcasses and then defecating in water bodies where they regularly drink or bath. The toxins released by the bacteria when it sporulates are also fatal to some species."
Anthrax is a highly infectious disease of animals caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. "It is thought that the disease is spread mainly through vultures and blowflies. Vultures are immune against anthrax and they spread the disease by consuming contaminated meat from affected carcasses and then defecating in water bodies where they regularly drink or bath. The toxins released by the bacteria when it sporulates are also fatal to some species."
According
to Thakhuli anthrax outbreaks are a natural occurrence in the northern Kruger
National Park and occur more or less every 10 years, apparently related to the
end of dry cycles. It usually occurs during the dry months of the year. Since
1960, eight major anthrax outbreaks have occurred in the KNP (1960, 1970, 1990,
1991, 1993, 1999, 2010 and 2012).
"Natural
regulator"
It is also closely linked to population density - when certain species like
kudu and hippo reach high densities then anthrax spreads more rapidly. The
disease is also the only disease in KNP that needs to kill its host in order to
propagate itself. In all the outbreaks before the disease naturally dissipates
when the rains start and when animal densities decrease, so it can be
considered a "natural regulator" of animal densities. The current
outbreak has seen relatively low numbers of cases in relation to population
sizes of species affected.
During
the previous outbreak of 2010 in the Nxanatseni region it is estimated that
approximately 2000 animals died.
"The
Kruger National Park rangers are currently monitoring the situation on a daily
basis to determine if they are more carcasses in the rivers," concludes
Thakhuli.
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