Service to manage wildlife disease - AFGRI

WILDLIFE DISEASES
44
Prof L Prozesky, head of the Pathology Section at the Veterinary Faculty, University of Pretoria
To identify the cause of theileriosis, Dr Johan
Steyl used a roan calf called Sparkie to collect
ticks in the veld.
Disease and the management thereof can jeopardise the
viability of commercial wildlife enterprises and threaten
the survival of rare species. The Department of Paraclinical
Sciences of the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University
of Pretoria (UP), plans to establish a consultancy service
to counter this.
In many instances the diseases that occur in wildlife populations
have never been encountered previously, and little Prof L Prozesky
or nothing is known of their aetiology (science of the causes
of disease), epidemiology (science of epidemics), pathogenesis (mode of development
of a disease) or their prevention and control. They are often multifactorial
in origin.
The UP’s proposed service will organise and coordinate investigations into the
diagnosis and control of disease and disease-associated management problems.
The service will be available to farmers, wildlife breeding establishments and
reserves in Southern Africa.
Free-living animals and birds provide a major attraction for both national and
international tourists and are the basis of a substantial part of the economy of
South Africa. Tourists participate in eco-tourism and sport hunting, conducted
on both state and privately owned land.
Wildlife reserves and breeders contribute substantially to the conservation of
rare species and the maintenance of biodiversity. Breeding and trade in animals
to introduce and build up populations in wildlife reserves of all kinds has become
an industry in its own right.
Wildlife is a commercial commodity that is often managed intensively, in a way
similar to domestic livestock. It is bought and sold and translocated over long
distances, often to habitats very different from those in which it originated.
Exposure of animals and birds to environments and management systems to
which they are not adapted often causes disease. The psychological stress of
confinement and translocation alone is a strong predisposing factor, as is the
nutritional stress of unsuitable habitats.
Contact with infectious agents to which the animals have no resistance, either
as a result of mixing with other animals or exposure to unfamiliar vectors, can
result in disease outbreaks. Wildlife species may be particularly susceptible to
environmental contaminants.
SUCCESS STORY
The potential benefits of the UP’s service are best illustrated by reference to an
ongoing investigation into the disease theileriosis of roan antelope in Mpumalanga
and Limpopo provinces of South Africa that started in 2001. The owners of the
affected properties and the National Research Foundation have funded the
project.
Roan antelope, Hippotragus equinus, is a species of large, free-living ungulate
(hoofed animals) that was formerly widespread in Africa. In Southern Africa,
roan antelope are now restricted to a few state and privately owned wildlife
reserves, and their numbers are declining. Historical data show that roan roamed
the country in their thousands in the early 1900's, but there are now only