Anthrax Outbreak Hits Animal Preserves HARARE, Zimbabwe An
outbreak of anthrax has killed at least 1,500 wild game animals
in nature preserves in southeastern Zimbabwe, a state-run
newspaper reports. The Herald newspaper reported that Dr. Stuart
Hargreaves, head of livestock and veterinary services in the
Agriculture Ministry, said most of the deaths occurred in the
past three weeks in the remote Malangwe and Save preserves,
about 480 kilometers (300 miles) south of Harare. Hargreaves
said about 700 big game animals including rhinoceros and buffalo
were vaccinated against the hemorrhagic disease. The carcasses
of at least 1,400 smaller plains animals, including common
antelope-like species, were burned, he said. He said the
outbreak, one of the largest reported in a wildlife area, was
waning. There were no immediate reports of human deaths in the
outbreak. The preserves are adjacent to the huge unpopulated
Gonarezhou national park. Natural anthrax is endemic in Zimbabwe
where its bacillus spores can live for