Officials: Anthrax has killed 194 hippos

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) -- An anthrax outbreak has killed nearly 200 hippos in western Uganda, wildlife officials said Tuesday, and scientists are struggling to develop a way to contain the disease.
The first of the 194 hippo deaths occurred in late July in Queen Elizabeth National Park, but it took months of research and testing to determine the cause, said John Bosco Nuwe, the park's chief warden.
"We are vaccinating the livestock around the park or those in close proximity," Nuwe said.
Scientists from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin identified the disease as anthrax.
The bacteria produces toxic pores that remain in the soil for years and which kill livestock. Symptoms include high fever and bleeding.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to a wide variety of African wildlife and features vast savannas, crater lakes, geysers and hot springs. About 5,000 hippos, half of Uganda's total, live in the park, which makes up much of Uganda's border with Congo.