Uganda: Four Dead After Eating Game Meat
Chris Ahimbisibwe
17 February 2009


Kampala — FOUR people are suspected to have died in Kisenyi fishing landing site, Katunguru sub-county in Bushenyi district after eating antelope meat.

The district director of health services, Dr. Celestine Barigye, said Joseph Byaruhanga and one Bampemukaho died on Saturday.

He said the dead men chanced on the antelope that had collapesed in their compound.

Dawson Mbulamberi, the acting commissioner for community health said on Monday that the ministry was yet to establish the cause of the deaths.

The Queen Elizabeth National Park area conservation manager, Tom Okello, said he could not confirm whether there was any disease outbreak because he had been away.

Moses Mapesa, the executive director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, said he first needed to look at the postmortem reports of the deceased to comment about the cause of death.

Thanks

That made my day.

Note to self: Next time I'm in Uganda and an Antelope collapses in the compound, force myself not to dine on the tasty carcass.
LDK

A rancher friend of mine in Namibia had a rabid kudu stumble through his yard. He shot it and was going to burn the its remains. His workers wanted the meat to make biltong.

He asked a vet if the rabies could be passed through eating the meat. The vet said that it would be OK if the rabies was give 48 hours to die off.

The meat was aged and the workers ate it with no ill effects......

Braver than I

Sort of a Southern version of road kill! Gee, I wonder if the have collapsed antelope helper in Uganda?

I ate one of the beef burgers at the Abuja, Nigeria Sheraton last Saturday and spent the next three days with Obasanjo's revenge. Test results will be back Monday to find out just what kind of animal I introduced into my system. I'd rather take my chances on wild game, as long as I know where it's been of course.

Uganda: Anthrax Kills Five in Bushenyi
Anthony Bugembe
18 February 2009

Kampala — FIVE people have died after eating meat believed to be infected with anthrax in Katunguru sub-county in Bushenyi district, the health ministry has said.

"A total of 159 people are being monitored by our surveillance team for possible symptoms of anthrax after being exposed to the risk," Paul Kaggwa, the health ministry spokesperson, told The New Vision yesterday.

The first two deaths occurred on Saturday at Kisenyi landing site and three more deaths were registered between Saturday and Tuesday.

They are believed to have eaten a carcass of an antelope.

"The infected animal strayed out of Queen Elizabeth National Park around January 27 and the residents slaughtered it," said Kaggwa. "They developed abdominal pains, the first symptom and it was reported on February 6."

Two other people were sent to Lugazi health centre for medical check up after complaining of abdominal pains.

Kaggwa urged people to desist from eating wild animals.

The health ministry has advised people in the affected area to report to health centres if they develop symptoms associated with anthrax.

The disease is often fatal unless treated early.

The symptoms vary depending on how it was contracted, but usually occur within seven days after exposure.

A joint team from the Uganda Wild Life Authority (UWA), the health and agriculture ministries and the School of Public Health, Makerere University, has been dispatched to Bushenyi to study the situation.

Moses Mapesa, the executive director of UWA, said he would wait for a report from his technical team and health officials before confirming the outbreak.


"We have dealt with disease outbreaks before. We need to get the confirmatory tests first," Mapesa said.

Mapesa warned the public against eating game meat.

Between August and October 2004, an outbreak of anthrax in Queen Elizabeth National Park left 200 hippos dead.

People who ate the carcasses also died.

The affected areas were Kisenyi and Kasenyi landing sites and Kazinga Channel. This forced the UWA to suspend tourism activities in the area.

quote:

Originally posted by Dall85:
Sort of a Southern version of road kill! Gee, I wonder if the have collapsed antelope helper in Uganda?

On the shelf right next to the "buffalo chitlins".