Virunga Hippo Anthrax Outbreak Kills 28 in DR Congo

The Virunga hippo anthrax outbreak has killed twenty-eight hippos in eastern Congo, and the park is now warning nearby communities to stay away from the carcasses. According to Al Jazeera, the bodies have turned up in the Semuliki River over roughly the last month, and lab tests confirmed the bacterium Bacillus anthracis as the cause.

What Happened in the Semuliki River

Hippo carcasses started appearing in the Semuliki River, west of Africa's oldest national park, in mid-September. A resident of the Vitshumbi enclave, about one hundred kilometres north of Goma, told Al Jazeera that people began to notice mass deaths then and grew fearful because the die-off was unfolding during the Ebola outbreak.

Park officials say twenty-eight hippos died over about a month. Earlier estimates were lower. According to EconoTimes, a Virunga official gave an estimate of around twenty carcasses in early October, and the count has climbed since as more bodies were found.

Congo's nature conservation institute, known as ICCN, announced the anthrax result in a late-September notice from its North Kivu directorate, working with the Virunga Doctors veterinary team. A response protocol was put in place, and park teams now monitor the affected stretch of river.

Why Anthrax Hits Hippos Hard

Anthrax spores can survive in soil for decades, park officials say. When drought thins out the vegetation, plant-eating animals graze closer to the ground and crowd around the few remaining water points, which raises their exposure to contaminated soil.

Joel Mbusa Mapoli, an ecologist and veterinary expert, told Al Jazeera that several factors feed repeat outbreaks in Virunga. They include the bacterium lingering in the environment, worsening ecological and climate conditions, animals bunching up around water, and difficulty tracking wildlife health.

This is not the first time. The park's February census update said an anthrax outbreak killed sixty-five hippos in twenty twenty-five, and crews had to bring in excavators to pull the carcasses from the water. The same census estimated the hippo population at more than two thousand seven hundred animals across one hundred seventy-one groups.

A Risk for People Too

Anthrax is a Gen Z-proof reminder that animal and human health are linked. The park says the disease can pass to people through contact with a dead or sick animal, or by eating its meat. Residents are being told not to touch, skin or eat any animal found dead, and to report carcasses or suspected cases to authorities.

Mapoli argues the response should blend conservation and public health under the One Health approach, which treats human, animal and environmental health as one system. He called for stronger surveillance, better protection for communities, proper handling of carcasses and more cooperation between state and non-state groups.

Conflict Makes Everything Harder

Virunga is also stuck in a war zone. The park says it has lost control of a large part of its territory over the past four years because of fighting between the Congolese army and M23 fighters, while M23 says it is helping protect the area from poachers. Congolese activist Olivier Ndoole Bahemuke said nearly three decades of armed conflict have fuelled poaching and deforestation.

That matters because disease monitoring depends on rangers and vets being able to reach the water. Hippos are described as ecosystem engineers, moving nutrients between land and water, so losing a chunk of them can ripple through the whole river system.

Not Just a Congo Problem

Hippo anthrax is flaring elsewhere in Africa. According to Mongabay, Zambia reported forty-six hippo deaths in its northern Muchinga province since an outbreak was flagged on August thirty-first, though anthrax had been confirmed in only one animal at that point.

For now, the Virunga hippo anthrax outbreak is being handled through surveillance, safe disposal of carcasses and public warnings. With Congo already battling its deadliest Ebola outbreak, the park has little room for another crisis. Keep an eye on world news and science coverage for updates as the count develops.