Rogue elephant dies in Karnataka after being tranquilised, relocated from Kerala
Kerala govt appoints panel to probe into death of captured rouge elephant
Kozhikode (Kerala), Feb 3: The Kerala government on Saturday appointed a high-level committee headed by a Chief Conservator of Forests to probe whether there were any lapses in connection with the capture of the rogue elephant from Wayanad which died after being transported to Karnataka.
The elephant was captured after an hours-long mission on February 2 when it had ventured into the southern state.
State Forest Minister A K Saseendran told PTI that a committee headed by Eastern Circle CCF and Custodian of Vested Forests, Palakkad, K Vijayananthan, will probe the matter and submit a report within a month.
Meanwhile, doctors who were part of the necropsy of the elephant which had died at Bandipur in Karnataka, told the media that as per the preliminary reports, the cause of death was "pulmonary arrest".
"There was a 40-cm-wide wound on the elephant's thigh which was filled with pus. There are chances of infection. We have collected the samples which will be sent to the laboratory for further examination," Forest veterinary officer of Wayand, Dr Ajesh Mohandas, who was present during the autopsy of the elephant told the media.
He further said that the injury in the thigh was over a month old and the pulmonary arrest was due to that infection.
Mohandas said the animal had undergone heavy stress and trauma twice in the last one month.
He was referring to the news reports which said that the elephant was earlier tranquilized in Karnataka when it ventured into a human habitat. The animal which then ventured into Kerala was captured on Friday after darting it.
However, Saseendran said the autopsy was held in Karnataka and the official report will be out after the concerned officials prepare it.
He said the high-level committee was appointed to probe whether there were any lapses on capturing the pachyderm.
Saseendran had earlier termed it as the 'utmost painful', the news about the animal's death, which had shocked everyone.
Called as 'Thanneer Komban' by locals, the elephant was captured more than 16 hours after it entered Kerala on Friday.
The tusker was darted with tranquiliser shots twice before being loaded onto a truck with the help of kumki elephants for being transported to Bandipur in Karnataka.
After around 10 pm on Friday, the pachyderm was loaded onto the truck with the help of the kumki elephants.
Kumki elephants are captive pachyderms used in operations for trapping and capturing other elephants.
The elephant was calm and composed throughout and did not attack anyone or cause any major property damage.
However, after reaching Bandipur last night, the elephant died.
The KFD today with the help of Kumki Elephant, severely tortured an elephant named Thaneer Komban and took it away in a vehicle. The elephant screamed from the pain of the wound @moefcc @narendramodi @Manekagandhibjp @byadavbjp @rameshpandeyifs @pinarayivijayan @saseendran_ak pic.twitter.com/vQZysCihmG
— Parthiban S (@Parthiban951428) February 2, 2024
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2 Indian nationals part of crew of luxury cruise ship that reported hantavirus outbreak
London (PTI): At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew of the Dutch vessel MV Hondius which reported a hantavirus outbreak with five confirmed cases and three deaths so far, according to the BBC.
The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.
About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the luxury cruise, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on April 24, according to the report.
Of the 28 nationalities onboard, 38 are from the Philippines, 31 from the UK, 23 from the US, 16 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, nine from Germany, six from Canada, and two crew members from India, among others, the BBC reported.
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The World Health Organization said on Thursday that five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases had been confirmed.
A 69-year-old Dutch woman, confirmed to have the virus, has died; her Dutch husband and a German woman were also among the fatalities. Their cases are being investigated.
The UN health agency has said the outbreak is not the start of a pandemic.
Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO, told a news briefing that the situation is not the same as six years ago with Covid-19 because hantavirus spreads through “close, intimate contact”.
Van Kerkhove said “this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently”. She said authorities had asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.
Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should “wear a higher level of personal protective equipment”.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.
Meanwhile, health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.
Oceanwide Expedition said 29 passengers, of at least 12 different nationalities, had left the MV Hondius in St Helena, the British Overseas Territory.
It also said the body of one deceased person—now known to be a Dutch man - was taken off the vessel.
Seven of those who left the cruise liner were British nationals.
