DADU, Oct 5 The Sindh Wildlife Department declared an emergency in the Khirthar National Park and cordoned off an area spread over four square kilometres area after a viral disease affected a portion of the Sindh Ibex population, a vulnerable specie included in the IUCN's Red List.

Out of 250 wild goats which live in the park's Karchat area, at least 15 were found dead between Sept 24 and Oct 5.

Two teams, headed by Sindh Conservator Hussain Bux Bhagat and Deputy Conservator Ghulam Sarwar Jamali, are learnt to have launched a rescue operation.

The Khirthar National Park is spread over 3,162 square kilometres along the Khirthar mountain range in the western part of Jamshoro district. It contains 15,000 Sindh Ibex, about 10,000 wild sheep, 1,500 deer and hundreds of other animals.

A team of veterinary doctors visited the affected area, collected water samples from eight sites and sent two dead wild goats to Tando Jam for laboratory analysis.

Dr Zulfiqar Bhutto, a leading veterinarian, told Dawn that the disease had possibly spread from goats.

Deputy Conservator Ghulam Sarwar said that laboratory tests had ruled out the possibility of the disease being water-borne.

He said that he had found bodies of four Ibex on Sept 24, adding that he had also found two ill Ibex in other areas. They were being treated, he added.

During his second visit, he said, he had found bodies of two more dead animals, which had been brought to Hyderabad for diagnosing the disease.

He said that he was sure that the disease was viral and that a number of Ibex had been affected by it.

Dr Adil, another veterinary doctor, said that the animals first showed flu symptoms, adding that the disease weakened their immune system. The animals, he said, had died of pneumonia.

The provincial minister for wildlife, Dr Daya Ram, said that a rescue operation was under way in the Karchat wildlife centre. He said that 500 wildlife officials had been deployed to look after some 250 Sindh Ibex in the cordoned off area.

Uninfected Ibex were being monitored and the majority of the Sindh Ibex population was safe in the Khirthar Park, the minister said.

Highlighting the difficulty of vaccinating the entire animal population, he said that the wildlife department had taken preventive measures and the situation was under control.

He said that most of the affected animals had been found in the Karchat area near Toung.