ASUNCION – Paraguay’s ranchers have lost more than 2,000 head of cattle to a cold wave affecting much of Latin America’s Southern Cone region, authorities said Wednesday.

The interim director of the animal health service, Gerardo Bogado, told Asuncion radio stations that the latest reported cattle deaths brought the nationwide total to 2,089.

“The fatalities stopped and the laboratory results indicate to us that there is no pathogenic microorganism which is operating or causing any kind of epidemics,” he said, insisting the unusually cold weather was the cause.

He estimated the monetary value of the losses at roughly $700,000, given that most of the dead cattle were calves.

The cold wave is also blamed for 12 human fatalities in Paraguay, including deaths from hypothermia and from carbon-monoxide poisoning due to malfunctioning heaters.

Tuesday’s median low in Paraguay was 3 C (37 F), but early morning temperatures averaged 10 C (50 F) on Wednesday and were forecast to rise to around 20 C (68 F) by mid-afternoon. EFE