By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Authorities in Zambia have warned citizens against eating meat from wildlife that died naturally after dozens of wild animals, including hippos, elephants, buffalo and a crocodile died following an outbreak of anthrax.
A disaster management agency official over the weekend that 12 people had been infected with the disease after consuming dead wildlife in the Munyamadzi River area.
The official urged the public to avoid meat from unknown causes, appealing to them to report death of animals.
Authorities have also called for immediate suspension of hunting in the affected until the extent of the disease and associated risks are established.
Officials have not yet ascertained the full geographical extent of the latest outbreak, with surveillance and laboratory investigations ongoing.
Anthrax is endemic to Zambia but human deaths are not common. In 2023, the country experienced what was described as an “unprecedented outbreak”, which killed four people and spread to nine out of 10 provinces.
Another large-scale outbreak was reported in 2011, with more than 500 cases, when five people died after consuming meat from infected hippos.
In the latest outbreak in the Munyamadzi Game Management Area, in Muchinga province, Zambia’s Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit said 46 hippos, eight elephants, five buffaloes and one crocodile had died since July.
“The sad story about the deaths of this wildlife is that the carcasses ended up being eaten by the local people – that’s what they depend on for their food,” the unit’s national coordinator Norman Chipakupaku said.
