Virunga National Park in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is confronting a significant anthrax outbreak among its hippopotamus population, occurring amid ongoing regional health challenges. Laboratory confirmation established that the bacterium Bacillus anthracis caused the deaths of approximately 28 hippos discovered in the Semuliki River over a four-week period beginning in mid-September. Local residents have expressed alarm about the situation given its timing alongside the broader public health crisis affecting the region.
Park officials and environmental experts have characterized the outbreak as a notable loss for the ecosystem. Hippopotamuses function as ecosystem engineers, modifying nutrient flows and environmental conditions within their habitats. An ecology and veterinary medicine specialist emphasized that the hippopotamus species serves as a flagship organism for Virunga’s aquatic systems, with potential disappearance posing risks of major ecological disruption. A February 2026 census had estimated the park’s hippo population at more than 2,700 individuals distributed across 171 groups.
Virunga National Park has implemented response measures including surveillance activities, safe carcass management protocols, and community education initiatives. Residents in affected areas have been instructed to avoid contact with deceased animals and to report suspected cases to authorities. Park officials attribute the outbreak partly to environmental conditions, noting that anthrax spores can persist in soil for decades and that dry periods concentrate herbivores around limited water and grazing resources, increasing contamination exposure.
This represents a recurring challenge for the park’s wildlife. A prior anthrax outbreak in 2025 resulted in 65 hippo deaths, prompting mobilization of excavators for carcass retrieval. Experts have attributed recurring outbreaks to multiple factors including bacterial persistence, ecological deterioration, climatic stress, animal congregation patterns, and surveillance constraints. Environmental advocates have also noted that armed conflict spanning nearly three decades has compromised the park’s territorial control and contributed to poaching and deforestation pressures.
Specialists have recommended addressing the outbreak through integrated approaches combining conservation strategies with public health interventions, emphasizing epidemiological surveillance, community protection, proper carcass management, and enhanced inter-agency collaboration aligned with One Health principles that recognize connections between human, animal, and environmental health.
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