Hippos in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been affected by an anthrax outbreak over the past month.Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/MCT/Tribune News Service via Getty
An anthrax outbreak has killed at least 30 hippopotamuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the past month. No cases in people have been reported so far, but authorities say they are monitoring the situation closely.
The dead animals were first found in September in Virunga National Park in eastern DRC, and laboratory tests confirmed they died from anthrax, a serious infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.
The outbreak comes at the same time as health authorities and conservation groups in the DRC manage large outbreaks of Ebola and cholera, and the ongoing humanitarian challenges caused by armed conflict in the region. A disease outbreak of anthrax in wildlife puts further pressure on already limited resources, say researchers.
The anthrax bacterium is found naturally in soil worldwide and can infect livestock and wild animals if they encounter its spores. Officials at Virunga National Park said in a statement that teams have been monitoring the affected area and coordinating the safe handling and disposal of carcasses and there have been no new mortalities in the past two weeks.
David Hayman, a disease ecologist at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand, says the main risk to people is from handling infected carcasses or consuming contaminated meat. The disease can be treated with antibiotics if caught early, but it can be fatal without treatment.
Although no cases have been reported in people during this outbreak, Charity Mutesi, an epidemiologist at the Uganda National Institute of Public Health in Kampala, says that infections can go undetected because people might decide to stay at home rather than going to a clinic for treatment. People often use herbs on the lesions caused by some anthrax infections, or might seek care from drug shops, private clinics or traditional healers, who do not report the cases to the national disease surveillance systems, she adds.
Recurring outbreaks
The DRC has experienced several anthrax outbreaks in animals and people over the past few years. In March 2025, an outbreak killed around 65 hippos. Fifteen people tested positive for the disease in bordering Uganda, two of whom died.
“It is very concerning that these outbreaks continue to happen,” says Ricardo Soares Magalhães, an epidemiologist at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.
