Zambia warns against eating dead wildlife after anthrax kills dozens of animals
Zambian authorities have urged people not to eat meat from dead wild animals after an anthrax outbreak infected 12 people, with dozens of hippos, elephants and buffalo dying since July.
Authorities in Zambia have warned the public against consuming meat from wild animals that die of unknown causes, after an anthrax outbreak infected 12 people who had eaten dead wildlife. A disaster management official said over the weekend that the infections occurred among people who consumed carcasses in the Munyamadzi River area.
The official urged residents to avoid eating meat from animals that die naturally or from unknown causes, and to report any such deaths to authorities. Hunting in the affected area has also been suspended until the scale of the outbreak and its risks are better understood. Officials say the full geographic spread of the outbreak has not yet been determined, with surveillance and laboratory testing still under way.
Anthrax is endemic in Zambia, though human deaths from it are uncommon. In 2023 the country recorded what was called an unprecedented outbreak that killed four people and reached nine of its ten provinces. Another major outbreak occurred in 2011, involving more than 500 cases and five deaths linked to eating infected hippo meat.
Dozens of animals dead
In the current outbreak, centred on the Munyamadzi Game Management Area in Muchinga province, 46 hippos, eight elephants, five buffaloes and one crocodile have died since July. Norman Chipakupaku, national coordinator of Zambia's Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit, said the carcasses of the dead animals had been eaten by local communities who rely on them as a food source.
No human deaths have been reported in this outbreak, and the 12 people infected are currently being treated. Anthrax is caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, whose spores can survive in soil for years before infecting an animal through inhalation or through a wound. The disease mainly affects grazing animals and can cause sudden death, and it can spread to humans through contact with contaminated animal products.
Zambians have been told not to consume, sell, distribute or handle meat from animals that died suddenly or are suspected of having anthrax, and to avoid handling wild animals altogether.
