1890s African rinderpest epizootic

thumb|Cattle dead from rinderpest in South Africa, 1896 In the 1890s, an epizootic of the rinderpest virus struck all across Africa, but primarily in Eastern and Southern Africa. It was considered to be "the most devastating epidemic to hit southern Africa in the late nineteenth century." It killed more than 5.2 million cattle south of the Zambezi, as well as domestic oxen, sheep, and goats, and wild populations of buffalo, giraffe, and wildebeest. The effects of the outbreak were drastic, leading to massive famine, economic collapse, and disease outbreak in humans. Quotes Never before in the memory of man, or by the voice of tradition, have the cattle died in such numbers; never before has the wild game suffered. Feature: eradicating rinderpest so many and so close that the vultures had forgotten to fly. Feature:eradicating rinderpest Said by a Massai man due to devastation that it caused in Engaruka Basin in Tanzania External link Category:History of Ethiopia Category:Disasters