KAMPALA, Sept. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Four people in western Uganda died recently after they reportedly ate a dead hippo's meat, The New Vision newspaper reported on Monday.

    The dead, from Bunyaruguru county, Bushenyi district, ate the meat after the hippo died of a strange disease.

    Three more ate hospitalized at Rugazi Health Center, the reportsaid.

    Bushenyi district director of health services Charles Katurebe said they were investigating the deaths.

    Bunyaruguru county residents have always complained that hipposfrom Queen Elizabeth National Park eat their crops.

    A mysterious disease hitting Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda about a month ago has killed more than 100 hippos out of an estimated 4,000 up to date.

    The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) dispatched an expert team made up of people from the UWA, Makerere University, the Ministry of Agriculture and an European Union supported disease control program in mid-August to investigate the death.

    However, the cause of the death remains a mystery. Enditem