<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following </span><a href="http://www.sciencealert.com/anthrax-outbreak-suspected-to-have-killed-more-than-100-hippos-in-namibia"><span style="font-weight: 400;">devastating photos</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and reports of the hippos’ sudden deaths, Colgar Sikopo, director of parks and wildlife management at Namibia's Ministry for the Environment and Tourism </span><a href="https://www.newera.com.na/2017/10/09/over-100-hippos-dead-in-bwabwata/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">assured the public </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">there was no cause for concern. “This is a situation that we have seen before … It mainly occurs when the level of the river is so low,” he said, adding: “This is a natural cause and with the animals dying people should not panic.”</span></p><p><div data-conversation-spotlight=""></div></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Acting director of Namibia's Ministry of Environment and Tourism Johnson Ndokosho </span><a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/10/anthrax-kills-hippos-bwabwata-park-namibia-spd/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">stressed </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">that Namibian hippo populations will not significantly be impacted by the bacteria. He stated: "We're concerned that animals are dying, but we're not worried about the [overall health of the] population.” Currently, around </span><a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/10/anthrax-kills-hippos-bwabwata-park-namibia-spd/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">3,300 hippos</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> live in and around Namibia; the International Union for the Conservation of Nature classifies hippos as a </span><a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/10103/0"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“vulnerable” species</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, meaning that unless officials actively protect the species and its habitat, they will likely become endangered. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anthrax previously </span><a href="https://www.newera.com.na/2017/10/09/over-100-hippos-dead-in-bwabwata/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">cropped up in Namibia</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in 2003, when several elephants and hippos within the Kasika Conservancy fell prey to the bacteria. Other nations have experienced more widespread anthrax outbreaks, including the death of </span><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/anthrax-outbreak-may-have-caused-mass-die-hippos-namibia-180965200/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">300 Ugandan hippos</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in 2004 and a massive wave that claimed over </span><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41558385"><span style="font-weight: 400;">2,300 Siberian reindeer</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, also leaving a Siberian child dead in its wake. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s unlikely that the most recent hippo outbreak would pass to humans, as instances of humans contracting anthrax are relatively rare. However, several notable outbreaks have occurred in recent years, including a devastating Scottish outbreak from 2009 to 2010 linked to </span><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-16424695"><span style="font-weight: 400;">spore-contaminated heroin</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, in which 119 individuals were infected and 14 died, the deadliest anthrax-related incident the UK had experienced in 50 years.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Namibian environmental minister Pohamba Shifeta </span><a href="https://www.namibian.com.na/60944/read/Shifeta-seeks-navy-to-remove-hippo-carcasses"><span style="font-weight: 400;">expressed his hope</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for military aid to dispose of carcasses in Bwabwata’s more remote areas, </span><a href="https://sciencealert.com/anthrax-outbreak-suspected-to-have-killed-more-than-100-hippos-in-namibia"><span style="font-weight: 400;">addressing concerns</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that crocodiles feeding on the bodies could become infected: “We still have a few decomposed carcasses, and we are trying to get reinforcement from the Namibian Defence Force, especially the navy because they have more equipment than we do.” He also noted that several aerial reconnaissance flights have already begun scouring the park, even crossing into nearby Botswana, where an additional six hippos were recently found dead. </span></p><p><a href="https://www.namibian.com.na/60944/read/Shifeta-seeks-navy-to-remove-hippo-carcasses"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shifeta stressed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that “the hippo situation is getting back to normal.” Still, he urged the public to avoid ingesting hippo meat and fish from Bwabwata National Park, as well as to refrain from swimming in the Kavango River, until experts can pinpoint the outbreak’s source. </span></p>
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