Haemorrhagic Septicemia

Haemorrhagic Septicemia

Subject: Science and Tech

Context: 7 elephants were dead in Odisha in the Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary in Kalahandi with reports pointing to a disease, Haemorrhagic Septicemia.

Concept:

• It is caused by a bacterium called pasteurellamultocida.
• The bacteria are commonly found in the respiratory tract of herbivores, especially in cattle from which elephant has supposedly got the disease.
• It rapidly multiply and move from the respiratory tract to the bloodstream only when the animal’s body faces stress (particularly when they are pregnant), has low immunity or is unhealthy.
• It causes diarrhoea and often haemorrhagic septicemia, which can be fatal.
• It is possibly through contamination of the soil from faecal droppings or contamination of the water bodies, than direct transfer among elephants.