Wildlife

Poaching threatens Mali's rare desert elephants

About a fifth of Mali's rare desert elephants have been killed this year as ivory poachers exploit a security vacuum in the country's north, the United Nations said on Thursday.

At least 57 elephants died between January and June among the West African country's only herd of around 300 animals, the U.N. peacekeeping mission MINUSMA said in a statement.

"(The poached elephants) represent about 20 percent of the remaining (Malian) population and were killed in areas where insecurity is present," MINUSMA said, adding that forest rangers were frequently targeted by Islamist jihadists.

The WILD Foundation, which helps protect Mali's northern Gourma herd, estimates that around 90 of the mammals have been killed since late 2014.

Tens of thousands of elephants once roamed the savannahs stretching between West Africa's shores and the Nile basin but poaching and habitat loss have dramatically cut their numbers.

Roughly 7,000 animals are thought to remain in West and Central Africa, of which some are thought to be genetically distinct from the more numerous elephants further south. They are often scattered in small, isolated groups of less than 100 and are at risk of local extinction.

Mali's Gourma elephants, once a magnet for tourists visiting the nearby desert city of Timbuktu, are one of the last two desert herds in the world. The other is in Namibia.

The decline in Mali has accelerated in recent months because of rising insecurity and a decrease in army protection, according to Amy Lewis from WILD Foundation.

Armed groups drove the Malian army out of many posts in the country's north last year and are fighting amongst each other for control of land and trafficking corridors.

Disease

Chikungunya – Senegal

On 9 September 2015, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (MOHSA) of Senegal notified WHO of active circulation of chikungunya virus in the region of Kédougou. The circulation began on 27 August 2015. Samples were collected from 14 suspected cases for laboratory-confirmation at the Institut Pasteur of Dakar. Ten (10) samples tested positive for chikungunya virus. As of 8 September 2015, ten (10) chikungunya confirmed cases were reported. The latest active circulation in the affected area was reported between 2009 and 2010.

Poliovirus in Ukraine and Mali

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently confirmed the occurrence of two vaccine-derived polio cases in Ukraine and one case in Mali. The vaccine-derived polio cases are the ones caused by a mutant from the original wild poliovirus.

Although the number of reported cases of polio has significantly reduced globally, WHO believes that the incidence of three newly reported cases in Mali and Ukraine suggest why no country can be complacent about it and that every child should be immunized against the disease. Ukraine, on the other hand, has very low rates of polio immunization.

Bubonic Plague Case in USA

A Michigan resident recently contracted Bubonic plague after a visit to Colorado, health authorities confirmed Monday. The case is the first reported this year in the state and the 14th diagnosis nationwide.

The life-threatening disease is not native to Michigan and occurs when a person is bitten by an infected flea or rodent with the bacterium Yersinia pestis.

Infected populations often live in Western, rural areas of the country. Bubonic plague cannot travel from person to person.

Environment

Swarms of desert locusts that began appearing over the past few months in parts of Mali are threatening to spread northward into Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Mauritania. The swarms are believed to have initially emerged last year in the Libyan conflict zone, fed by abundant rainfall and unusually lush and moist conditions during the past summer.

The insects can consume more than their own weight in vegetation each day, and can ravage crops and pastures within hours.

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The week's hottest temperature was 111.7 degrees Fahrenheit (44.2 degrees Celsius) at Tarcoola, South Australia.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 69.3 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.3 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.

Disease

Small botulism outbreak in Oregon, USA. Home canned food is implicated in the outbreak.

Swine flu outbreak in Bolivia. 11 people have died while more than 900 are infected.

Cholera outbreak in northern Mali leaves 2 people dead.

 

Plague

Good rains and the resultant growth of vegetation in the Sahara have led to an increase in locust populations. Farmers in Niger and Mali are at high risk from large locust swarms that are moving southward from Algeria and Libya. The ravenous insects can decimate the food crops of entire communities.

Drought

Severe drought affects large area across Senegal, Niger, Chad and Mali. Children close to the edge of malnutrition wail for food. Aid agencies have not declared an emergency as the level of malnutrition is only 14%, one percentage point below the threshold.