From BBC News · · 1m 30s
Zambia's anthrax outbreak hits wildlife and people
Sixty dead animals, twelve sick people, and one warning Zambians are being asked to heed.
In brief
Sixty dead animals, twelve sick people, and one warning Zambians are being asked to heed. An animal that drops dead for no clear reason is not free meat, it is a warning sign. Report it, don't eat it. Originally reported by BBC News.
A warning about dead animals
Zambian authorities told the public to stop eating meat from wild animals after dozens died in an anthrax outbreak. Hippos, elephants, buffalo and a crocodile were among them.
Twelve people already infected
A disaster management official said 12 people caught anthrax after eating dead wildlife near the Munyamadzi River. All are in treatment and no deaths have been reported.
The toll on the game area
Since July, the Munyamadzi Game Management Area in Muchinga province has lost 46 hippos, eight elephants, five buffaloes and one crocodile.
“The carcasses ended up being eaten by the local people - that's what they depend on for their food”
Hunger drives the risk
The national coordinator of the disaster unit pointed to the hard part: people in the area rely on that meat to eat, so carcasses rarely go untouched.
Zambia has been here before
Anthrax is endemic to Zambia. A 2023 outbreak reached nine of 10 provinces and killed four people. In 2011, more than 500 cases followed infected hippo meat, and five died.
Spores that wait in the soil
Bacillus anthracis survives as spores in soil for years, then enters an animal through a wound or the lungs. Grazers die suddenly, and humans catch it by handling the remains.
Here's the gist
An animal that drops dead for no clear reason is not free meat, it is a warning sign. Report it, don't eat it.
