Anthrax scare in Joypur rainforest in Dibrugarh

A CORRESPONDENT

NAHARKATIA: The recovery of the bodies of a female elephant and a calf within three days in Joypur rainforest in Dibrugarh district has spread Anthrax scare in the forest area.

On December 3, inside the Joypur rainforest of Naharkatia, the body of an elephant calf was recovered. The veterinarians from TinsukiaGuijan and Naharkatia suspected the cause of death of the elephant calf to be infection of Anthrax. The fear of Anthrax has thickened on December 5 after the recovery of the carcass of a female elephant inside the rainforest.

Anthrax is a bacterial disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, a type of germ positive and spore-forming bacteria. Anthrax cause bacteria capable of lying dormant in the form of spores in carcasses and burial grounds of infected animals.

To prevent the outbreak of Anthrax, the forest officials cremated the elephant calf instead of burying it. After just two days of the incident, the dead female elephant was recovered under a mysterious condition which has increased the risk of Anthrax outbreak.

Spread over an area of 108 sq. km at Joypur in Dibrugarh district, several rare animals such as hollock gibbon, black panther, leopard, wild dog, stump tailored macaque, caped langur and flying squirrel are found inside the rainforest. If the postmortem report of the elephant calf confirms infection of Anthrax then it will be danger for the rare animal species found in the Joypur rainforest.

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