Odisha elephant killed due to cattle contracted bacterial disease: Central team report

According to the preliminary report of a central team constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, six elephants died due to hemorrhagic septicemia caused by the bacterium Pereaurella multicellular at the first Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary in Kalahandi in January – February. Animals living in a small tentulipara village of 12 houses inside the sanctuary are likely to contain elephant bacteria. The findings come after a postmortem examination of elephants and two cattle found dead in the sanctuary. The post-mortem as well as RNA extraction tests were done at the Orissa Veterinary College and the samples have now been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly, UP for final confirmation. Team members include Drs. Karikalan Mathesh, Scientist, IVRI, Drs. Prajana P Panda, National Coordinator, Elephant Cell, Drs. Niranjan Sahu, Professor, OUAT and Padma Shri KK Sarma. The team visited Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary in Kalahandi South Division and examined the sites of elephant deaths. Elephants are believed to have died sometime between January 29 and February 14 this year and their bodies were found near the watershed. All seven elephants (5 adults and two calves) found dead were female. Tests have confirmed that Pustuerella multicellular levels were very high in all dead animals. “There are only 12 houses in Tantulipada hamlet and the residents keep livestock including cattle, sheep and goats. Cattle are small in height, tied bare and produce very little milk, and are commonly used by villagers to fill the land. They are also kept free during the day for grazing in the forest. Dead elephants were initially tested for anthrax and herpes – two common diseases found in elephants. But when the team found the carcass of a cow in the forest, it was also tested and found high levels of Pustuerella multicoda. Like elephants, the cow was also pregnant. The first dead elephant was found close to the village and the second elephant was also found nearby. The dead cow was left in the forest for 15 days, but the practice was quite common in the village and did not cause any danger, ”a ministry official said. Pasturella multicellular is a common bacterium found in the respiratory tract of herbivorous organisms, especially in cattle. Only in times of animal stress, or when the animal’s immunity is low or unhealthy – as with cattle in this particular village – that bacteria grow rapidly and migrate from the respiratory tract into the bloodstream. This then causes diarrhea and often hemorrhagic septicemia, which can be fatal. In the case of Karlpat Wildlife Sanctuary, two cows and five elephants were pregnant and two elephant calves were newborn. “Stress in the body of animals occurs when they are pregnant, which makes them vulnerable to diseases,” the official said. According to the MoE report, cattle will have to undergo the disease of contaminating the soil through elephants leaving their feces or contamination of water bodies. The disease is believed to be caused through direct contact by the herd. There are nine elephants in this particular herd, seven of whom have died of the disease. Officials say that there were a total of 22 elephants in this sanctuary. Veterinary and forest officials in Odisha are now on high alert and mission mode to prevent further spread of the disease. Eight teams of ten forest officials are patrolling the sanctuary, tracking the two surviving elephants for signs of illness, as well as ensuring that they are kept away from other elephants in the forest. Meanwhile, the veterinary department has conducted cattle vaccination operations not only in Tantulipada, but in all the villages outside and around the sanctuary boundaries, resulting in 90 percent of the district’s cattle – about 6,000 – vaccinated. . Stagnant water inside the sanctuary has also been treated with bleaching powder to prevent it from spreading and water samples have been collected from various locations for testing. .