100 hippos die in Ugandan anthrax outbreak

KAMPALA - An outbreak of anthrax in a Ugandan national park has killed at least 100 hippos since early July, a national newspaper reported Thursday.

“The deaths cannot stop abruptly, but with one or two hippos dying every two weeks, we do not expect to lose a significant number of them,” The New Vision newspaper quoted veterinarian Patrick Atimnedi as saying.

The disease, which causes high fever and bleeding and affects both humans and animals, broke out in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda on the border to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The park has hundreds of hippos which live on the park’s savannas and swim in its numerous salt lakes.

The government has advised local people and fishermen to stay clear of stray hippos, avoid eating hippo meat and vaccinate their cattle against the disease.

Queen Elizabeth park is an important tourist attraction for the East African country, boasting hundreds of large mammals including elephants, lions and buffaloes.