Hundreds of elephants, wildebeests, and zebras have died across Kenya amid the nation’s longest drought in decades.
“The Kenya Wildlife Service Rangers, Community Scouts, and Research Teams counted the deaths of 205 elephants, 512 wildebeests, 381 common zebras, 51 buffalos, 49 Grevy’s zebras, and 12 giraffes in the past nine months,” a report released Friday by the country’s Ministry of Tourism said.
“The drought has negatively impacted on the herbivore populations and particularly wildebeest and zebra.”
Prolonged drought across the Horn of Africa over the past four consecutive rainy seasons has left some 18 million people affected by food shortages in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, according to reports from the World Food Programme.
The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said the drought is the region’s longest in four decades.
In Kenya, back-to-back seasons of below average rainfall have caused riverbeds to dry up and destroyed grasslands in game reserves, according to the tourism ministry.
“The worst-affected ecosystems are home to some of Kenya’s most-visited national parks, reserves and conservancies, including the Amboseli, Tsavo and Laikipia-Samburu areas,” its report said.
At the launch of the report, Kenya’s Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage Peninah Malonza said steps were being taken to save the lives of animals – including digging boreholes and transporting water to dried-up water pans and dams.
“The drought has caused mortality of wildlife, mostly herbivore species,” Malonza said.
“The mortalities have arisen because of depletion of food resources as well as water shortages,” she added. According to the ministry, Kenya had just 36,000 elephants left last year.
In an interview with the BBC in July, Kenya’s former cabinet secretary for wildlife and tourism Najib Balala said that climate change now kills 20 times as many elephants as poaching.
Source: cnn.com Original Media SourceShare this news
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Tanzania Confirms Second Marburg Outbreak After WHO Chief Visit
Dar es Salaam — Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has declared an outbreak of Marburg virus, confirming a single case in the northwestern region of Kagera after a meeting with WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The confirmation follows days of speculation about a possible outbreak in the region, after the WHO reported a number of deaths suspected to be linked to the highly infectious disease.
While Tanzania’s Ministry of Health declared last week that all suspected cases had tested negative for Marburg, the WHO called for additional testing at international reference laboratories.
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“The epicentre has now shifted to Biharamulo district of Kagera,” she told the press conference, distinguishing this outbreak from the previous one centred in Bukoba district.
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Health authorities stepped up surveillance and deployed emergency response teams after the WHO raised the alarm about nine suspected cases in the region, including eight deaths.
The suspected cases displayed symptoms consistent with Marburg infection, including headache, high fever, diarrhoea, and haemorrhagic complications, according to the WHO’s alert to member countries on 14 January. The organisation noted a case fatality rate of 89 per cent among the suspected cases.
“We appreciate the swift attention accorded by the WHO,” Hassan said.
She said her administration immediately investigated the WHO’s alert.
“The government took several measures, including the investigation of suspected individuals and the deployment of emergency response teams,” she added.
Cross-border transmission
The emergence of this case in a region that experienced Tanzania’s first-ever Marburg outbreak in March 2023 has raised concerns about cross-border transmission, particularly following Rwanda’s recent outbreak that infected 66 people and killed 15 before being declared over in December 2024.
The situation is particularly critical given Kagera’s position as a transport hub connecting four East African nations.
Amelia Clemence, a public health researcher working in the region, says constant vigilance is required.
“We never know when an outbreak might occur in a neighbouring nation. So we ensure infection prevention control assessments at every point of care as routine as a morning greeting at our workplaces.”
The Kagera region’s ecosystem, home to fruit bats that serve as natural reservoirs for the Marburg virus, adds another layer of complexity to disease surveillance efforts.
The virus, closely related to Ebola, spreads through contact with bodily fluids and can cause severe haemorrhagic fever.
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“This could have helped to guide those who are traveling to the affected region to be more vigilant and prevent the risk of further spread,” she said.
WHO regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti says early notification of investigation outcomes is important.
“We stand ready to support the government in its efforts to investigate and ensure that measures are in place for an effective and rapid response,” she said, noting that existing national capacities built from previous health emergencies could be quickly mobilised.
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This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
Source: allafrica.com
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