The mysterious deaths of dozens of Zimbabwe’s elephants has been solved

Three years ago, dozens of African elephants mysteriously died in Zimbabwe. Now scientists have confirmed their killer: a rare and little-known bacterium that can cause organ inflammation leading to deadly hemorrhaging.

The bacterium, dubbed Pasteurellaceae Bisgaard taxon 45, turned up in samples from six of 15 elephants analyzed, researchers report October 25 in Nature Communications. The pathogen is closely related to Pasteurella multocida, which is known to cause hemorrhagic septicemia, or fatal blood poisoning, but Bisgaard taxon 45 had not been previously implicated in such infections.  

.email-conversion { border: 1px solid #ffcccb; color: white; margin-top: 50px; background-image: url(“/wp-content/themes/sciencenews/client/src/images/[email protected]”); padding: 20px; clear: both; } .zephr-registration-form{max-width:440px;margin:20px auto;padding:20px;background-color:#fff;font-family:var(–zephr-typography-body-font),

→ Continue reading at Science News

More from author

Related posts

Advertisment

Latest posts

Meta failed to address harm to teens, whistleblower testifies as Senators vow action

Enlarge this image Facebook and Instagram parent Meta is under fire...

WeWork declares bankruptcy after stunning fall from grace | CNN Business

WeWork declares bankruptcy after stunning fall from grace ...

A controversial room-temperature superconductor result has now been retracted 

A stunning claim of a room-temperature superconductor that grabbed headlines has fizzled. The paper was retracted November 7 from the journal Nature, making for a trio of...