PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Trypanosomiasis-Protozoa - Over 500 Camels Killed By Mysterious Disease In Kenya?!

A herder waters his camels in Marsabit on January 25, 2016. Herders in the county are counting loses following an outbreak of a mysterious
disease that has so far killed over 500 camels. © Ken Bett / NATION MEDIA GROUP

February 1, 2016 - KENYA - Herders in Marsabit County are counting loses following an outbreak of a mysterious disease that is killing camels.

Bubisa and Shuur in Marsabit North Sub-County are the worst hit by the calamity with ward representative Pius Yatani describing the situation as alarming.

"I received the report on January 19 on the deaths and so far more than 500 camels have perished. I believe the disease may have erupted earlier,'' said Turbi-Bubisa Ward Rep.

Mr Yatani said he had appealed to the county government for urgent intervention.

He said a team of vets was already on the ground supplying vaccines donated by the county government to the pastoralists.

DONATED VACCINES

"The department of livestock has donated 20 dozen vaccines to help mitigate the crisis," he said by telephone.

Speaking to the Nation by phone, Shuur Pastoralist Community Initiative and Development Assistance (Pacida) programme coordinator Wario Guyo, said the animals were dying in large numbers.

"They (camels) are in good body shape but they suddenly become weak before dying,'' he said.

Marsabit County Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries executive James Aboran Dokhe said he was aware of the outbreak of the disease.

He said the disease was likely to have been spread from neighbouring Wajir where three weeks ago Wajir South MP Abdullahi Diriye raised the alarm over an unknown disease killing camels in the county.

Dr Dokhe said his department had responded to the emergency and had dispatched a team of experts to identify the mysterious disease.

"Once the tests are completed we will send the report to the University of Nairobi's veterinary department of for analysis,'' said the CEC

Mr Dokhe said the disease was likely to be Trypanosomiasis-protozoa. - Daily Nation.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Mysterious Disease Hits Southeast Nigeria, Kills In LESS THAN 24 HOURS - 18 People Dead So Far; Ebola Ruled Out; World Health Organization (WHO) Investigating?!

A Nigerian health official wearing a protective mask waits to screen passengers at the arrivals hall of Murtala Muhammed International Airport
in Lagos, Nigeria, August. 4, 2014. (AP Photo)

April 20, 2015 - NIGERIA - At least 18 people have been killed in a southeastern Nigerian town due to a "mysterious" disease which kills in less than 24 hours, government says.

"Twenty-three people (were affected) and 18 deaths were recorded," AFP quoted the Ondo state health commissioner, Dayo Adeyanju, as saying on Saturday.

Earlier in the day a government spokesman, Kayode Akinmade, had put the number of casualties at 17, saying that the mysterious disease broke out early this week in Ode-Irele town.

Akinmad added that all the victims perished within a day of falling ill and that Ebola or any other known virus has so far been ruled out as the cause by Laboratory tests, noting, "There is no patient of the disease in any hospital and the disease has not spread beyond the town."

He added that apart from government experts and health officials, World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologists had also arrived in the town for further investigation.

WHO has confirmed having information on 14 cases and 12 deaths.

"Common symptoms were sudden blurred vision, headache, loss of consciousness followed by death, occurring within 24 hours," said WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic, adding that an investigation was currently underway.

Urine, blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples had been taken from victims, he added. "All samples have been sent to Lagos University Teaching Hospital this morning, and results are still pending. Investigations are still ongoing" - Press TV.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Mysterious Plague In The Ternopil Region, Ukraine - Already 40,000 Chickens Have Died?!

November 10, 2013 - UKRAINE - A mysterious plague chickens in the Ternopil region: already 40,000 chickens died.

The enterprise in the village Vyrlov killed almost 40,000 chickens.

For the first three days of 17,000 chickens died, and subsequently the number of dead birds has increased, and now stands at nearly 40,000.

What were sick chickens, now find out in several laboratories in Ukraine. The villagers are scared. And although experts claim that a bird from a local businessman dies not from infection, people look forward to the results of research.

A secret virus continues to kill chickens at a poultry farm near Zborowski Ternopil region.

The plant, which operates in the village for more than 3 years old, entered a closed mode.


Samples of dead birds were put on vetekspertizy and chickens that are left, give preventive drugs. On the chicken farm conduct a series of planned activities, and utilization of poultry occurs on vetsanzavode. - Svodka. [Translated]

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Mysterious Disease - Six Hammerhead Sharks Suddenly Die In Ocean Park, Hong Kong, China?!

November 05, 2013 - CHINA - Six hammerhead sharks at Ocean Park died one by one in just seven hours yesterday because of a disease the park has not identified.

The hammerhead shark is classified as endangered by conservationists. Photo: SCMP

The remaining eight sharks "were also at risk", the park said, and its staff would continue to closely monitor them, segregating them and administering treatment if the need arose.

The dead sharks were first found "swimming abnormally" in the Grand Aquarium in the morning yesterday. They had shown no signs of illness before then, a spokeswoman said. Staff then moved them to a different area for treatment and observation, but from about 11am the sharks - all females weighing 45kg to 60kg - died one by one, until the last one perished at about 6pm.

The park's chief veterinarian Paolo Martelli said the park was experiencing high morbidity - the rate of incidence of a disease - with rapid mortality in the hammerhead shark population.

"We are now performing necropsies to better understand the cause of death," Martelli said, in a statement from the park issued yesterday evening.

The six dead sharks - all about five years old - were among the 15 hammerheads introduced from Japan in late 2010.

The park said that one had died already due to its inability to adjust to a new environment when it was moved into the Grand Aquarium in January 2011 from the old aquarium. But the other 14 "had doubled their weight and grown healthy over the past three years".

Ocean Park's spokeswoman said it had reported the death to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department immediately. A spokeswoman for the department said it would follow up with the park on the matter.

Earlier this year Ocean Park was forced to deny that dolphins kept there were trying to commit suicide after a video emerged showing 14-year-old Indo-Pacific bottlenose Pinky slamming herself at the wall of a pool.

According to Nimal Fernando, senior veterinarian at the park: "Dolphins can't really commit suicide. The mental ability to make a decision to kill yourself is beyond a dolphin's reasoning capability."

Samuel Hung Ka-yiu, a marine conservationist, said the dead fish were scalloped hammerhead sharks, which were listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

"We'd warned the park not to introduce endangered species into its captive environment, no matter whether they are blue fin tuna or hammerhead sharks," Hung said. "I hope the park will learn a lesson from such a saddening loss."

Hung believes that the eight remaining hammerhead sharks are "in great danger", since the others died so suddenly. In June 2008, a sturgeon died at the park soon after being bitten by a barracuda kept in the same tank. Another sturgeon died six months later because of an infection induced by the poorly maintained tank water. - SCMP.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: Mass Bird And Animal Die-Off In Pakistan - 118 Peacocks Have Died From Disease During The Past Two Months In Tharparkar And Cattle Herds Dying Of Mysterious Disease In Sargodha?!

July 22, 2013 - PAKISTAN - Wildlife Department has failed to control the New Castle “Ranikhet” disease as two more peacocks died of the deadly disease here on Thursday raising the overall death toll to 118.

118 Peacocks Have Died From Disease During The Past Two Months In Tharparkar.

It should be mentioned that beauty of Tharparkar, renowned for the wandering peacocks in open air, was fading due to deaths of peacocks due to birds epidemics.

More than 300 peacocks were killed of New Castle disease locally known as Ranikhet last year and 118 have died during last two months.

The locals who love the precious bird like their other pets have expressed grave concerns over outspread of disease as it claimed more than 100 of their beloved birds besides leaving dozens others affected. It was feared that death toll may rise further as many peacocks were stated to be adversely affected of Ranikhet.

They demanded the Wildlife Department and government to take steps to save the precious birds of extinction. - Business Recorder.

Cattle Herds Dying Of Mysterious Disease In Sargodha.

Mysterious disease continues to killing cattle heads in different areas of Sargodha district. Highly perturbed over the death of their precious animals which are main source of their earnings, farmers have protested against the livestock department negligence.

According to details, three buffaloes worth more than seven lac rupees died of mysterious disease in Chak 32 of Southern Sargodha on Saturday. It should be mentioned that the disease which could not be detected by cattle owners and veterinary experts also has so far left dozens of cattle dead in various areas of the district. The cattle rearing people have started moving to other villages due to fear of the disease affecting their animals.

The farmers have expressed grave concern over the criminal negligence of the livestock department officials in taking steps to control the spread of disease and treatment of affected animals.

They demanded the authorities concerned for taking notice and financial assistance of the farmers who suffered losses due to deaths of cattle. - The Frontier Post.

PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: 15 Donkeys Found Dead From "Mysterious Disease" In Sudanese Refugee Camp?!

January 26, 2013 - SUDAN - Sudanese refugees living at the Djabal camp in eastern Chad revealed that 15 donkeys have died in the past month due to a "mysterious disease" while many others are infected with it.

A camp's activist told Radio Dabanga on Friday that an organization that had been providing veterinary care at the site for the last years halted its work and closed the clinic.

As a result, refugees are currently not able to prevent their animals from contracting this "mysterious disease".

The activist appealed to international organizations working on veterinary care to address the issue at Djabal camp "before it is too late".

He stressed that donkeys are the only way refugees have to travel from camps to their farms and to collect firewood. - Radio Dabanga.