Anthrax outbreak feared

ELEVEN wild animals have died of suspected anthrax in eastern Caprivi since last month, Regional Governor Bernard Sibalatani told The Namibian yesterday.

This is the same area where the disease broke out in September, leaving more than 50 animals dead. Sibalatani said officials from the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture had informed him this week that six buffaloes and five elephants found dead in the area along the Chobe River had anthrax symptoms.He said this area stretched from Kasika to Masikili, close to Botswana’s Chobe National Park, where hundreds of animals died of the disease last year.The animal carcasses were discovered last week.Sibalatani said after he was briefed on the matter, it was decided to inform people on the precautions they should take.”We have already launched the campaign on the NBC Silozi [radio] service here,” said the Governor.When anthrax broke out in the Caprivi Region last September, some people were hospitalised after they touched or ate infected carcasses.The Deputy Director of Parks and Wildlife Management in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Sacky Namugongo, told The Namibian yesterday that preliminary tests had shown that the 11 animals had in fact died of anthrax.However, the blood had been sent to laboratories in Windhoek for further tests, he said.The carcasses have been burnt.The Environment Ministry has sent teams to the area to monitor the situation, while the Ministry of Agriculture is set to vaccinate cattle in the affected area.People in the Caprivi are urged not to touch or eat the meat of any animals found dead in the veld.Anthrax in wildlife has few visible symptoms except bleeding from the mouth, nostrils and anus.Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by a spore-producing, rod-shaped bacterium, Bacillus anthracis.Although it is most commonly found in herbivores such as wild animals, sheep and cattle, it can also infect people when they are exposed to infected animals.In people, it usually occurs in three forms – the relatively mild skin anthrax (when bacteria enter a break in the skin), gastro-intestinal (when somebody eats contaminated food) and the most serious form, when airborne anthrax spores are inhaled.Sibalatani said officials from the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture had informed him this week that six buffaloes and five elephants found dead in the area along the Chobe River had anthrax symptoms.He said this area stretched from Kasika to Masikili, close to Botswana’s Chobe National Park, where hundreds of animals died of the disease last year.The animal carcasses were discovered last week.Sibalatani said after he was briefed on the matter, it was decided to inform people on the precautions they should take.”We have already launched the campaign on the NBC Silozi [radio] service here,” said the Governor.When anthrax broke out in the Caprivi Region last September, some people were hospitalised after they touched or ate infected carcasses.The Deputy Director of Parks and Wildlife Management in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Sacky Namugongo, told The Namibian yesterday that preliminary tests had shown that the 11 animals had in fact died of anthrax.However, the blood had been sent to laboratories in Windhoek for further tests, he said. The carcasses have been burnt.The Environment Ministry has sent teams to the area to monitor the situation, while the Ministry of Agriculture is set to vaccinate cattle in the affected area.People in the Caprivi are urged not to touch or eat the meat of any animals found dead in the veld.Anthrax in wildlife has few visible symptoms except bleeding from the mouth, nostrils and anus. Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by a spore-producing, rod-shaped bacterium, Bacillus anthracis.Although it is most commonly found in herbivores such as wild animals, sheep and cattle, it can also infect people when they are exposed to infected animals.In people, it usually occurs in three forms – the relatively mild skin anthrax (when bacteria enter a break in the skin), gastro-intestinal (when somebody eats contaminated food) and the most serious form, when airborne anthrax spores are inhaled.