Virunga's capacity to respond is constrained by conflict.
Anthrax has killed 28 hippopotamuses in the Semuliki River in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo over roughly one month, according to Virunga National Park, which confirmed the cause after laboratory tests. The park told Al Jazeera that residents of the Vitshumbi enclave, about 100 kilometres north of Goma, began noticing mass deaths of hippos in mid-September. The outbreak is unfolding while the country contends with the deadliest Ebola outbreak in its history, a coincidence that residents quoted by Al Jazeera described as a source of acute fear.
The bacterium responsible, Bacillus anthracis, can persist in soil as spores for decades, according to park officials. Virunga said outbreaks among hippos and other wild animals have been observed before during periods of drought. When vegetation is scarce, herbivores graze closer to the ground and gather around the few remaining water points, increasing their exposure to contaminated soil, the park said. The ecology and veterinary medicine specialist Joel Mbusa Mapoli told Al Jazeera that the persistence of the bacterium, deteriorating ecological and climatic conditions, the concentration of animals around aquatic habitats and weak wildlife health monitoring all contribute to recurring outbreaks.
The immediate public health risk is to people. Virunga warned that the disease can pass to humans through contact with a dead or sick animal or by eating its meat. The park said teams are monitoring the affected area, recording new deaths and coordinating the safe handling and disposal of carcasses, while residents are being told not to touch, skin or consume animals found dead and to report carcasses or suspected cases. Mapoli argued that the response should combine conservation with public health measures under the One Health principle, which links human, animal and environmental health, and called for stronger epidemiological surveillance and closer collaboration among state and non-state bodies.
The ecological stakes are considerable. Mapoli described hippos as ecosystem engineers that alter nutrient flows and the ecological conditions of their habitats, and warned that the loss of a flagship species could disrupt aquatic ecosystems by interrupting the exchange of matter between land and water. The park's February 2026 census estimated the hippo population at more than 2,700, distributed across 171 groups. In 2025, an anthrax outbreak killed 65 hippos, and park staff used excavators to recover carcasses from the water. The current toll is lower, but it has accumulated in weeks rather than months.
Virunga's capacity to respond is constrained by conflict. The park says it has lost control of a significant part of its territory over the past four years amid fighting between the Congolese army and M23 fighters, who say they are protecting the area from poachers and other threats. The environmental activist Olivier Ndoole Bahemuke told Al Jazeera that nearly three decades of armed conflict have fuelled poaching and deforestation. Founded in 1925, Virunga is Africa's oldest national park and is known for its biodiversity.
Several questions remain open. The report does not establish how many people, if any, have been infected, nor how far the outbreak has spread beyond the Semuliki River. It does not say whether vaccination or treatment is being considered for wildlife or livestock, or how carcass disposal is proceeding in areas the park no longer controls. The park says the situation is being monitored closely. For communities along the river, the practical advice is clear; the wider outcome is not.
