Guwahati: The first case of goat pox in the Northeast has been reported among Himalayan gorals (goat antelopes) in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Five goral carcasses have been found in Tawang and a laboratory report received on Wednesday confirmed the cause of the death to be goat pox. It is suspected that more gorals may have died.

Gorals ( Naemorhedus goral) are protected under Schedule III of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorises the gorals as "near-threatened species" in its Red List of 2008. The population of the species, which lives in hilly and high ranges near cliffs in rocky terrain, is declining rapidly.

Tawang divisional forest officer (DFO) A. Qayum and Itanagar Zoo veterinarian Sorang Tadap had reported the death of three gorals in the Mukto area of Tawang on April 20. They reported that the goral carcasses had skin infections and nasal discharges. Initially, they suspected it to be a case of toxicity or rabies.

Veterinarians Jahan Ahmed and Tashi Thupten and the gaon burah of Mukto were later called in. A report prepared by the veterinarians, who conducted the post-mortem, and Tawang forest officials suspected it to be the "first case of goat pox", a marauding virus that can infect the entire goral population, in the Northeast.

"Detailed examination of the internal organs revealed that the lungs had severe, extensive lesions uniformly distributed throughout the lung parenchyma. It was highly congested. The lesions suggested goat-pox virus infection. Samples were collected for forensic tests for toxicological analysis. After the post-mortem examination, both the carcasses were burnt and buried deep. We had a detailed discussion with the DFO and the villagers about the disease, its probable source and if any other species was affected. We suggested that goat-pox vaccination be carried out to prevent a possible outbreak of the disease in the vicinity," the report says.

Samples were then sent for laboratory analysis which confirmed "clinically and symptomatically" that it is goat pox. Two more deaths were reported on Wednesday.

"We also examined a goat in Mukto village. It had skin infections in the fore and hind limbs and under the belly. The lesions appeared to be of parasitic origin," the report adds.

There were also reports of dogs dying in Mukto over the past few days. The team externally examined a dog which was in the dying stage. It had laboured breathing with loud sound. The case was suspected to be that of canine distemper. The dog's condition could not be linked to the dead gorals.