Tuberculosis in Tanzanian Wildlife
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Date
2005
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Abstract
Bovine tuberculosis, caused by
Mycobacterium bovis, is a pathogen of growing
concern in free-ranging wildlife in Africa, but
little is known about the disease in Tanzanian
wildlife. Here, we report the infection status of
Mycobacterium bovis in a range of wildlife species
sampled from protected areas in northern
Tanzania. M. bovis was isolated from 11.1% (2/
18) migratory wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)
and 11.1% (1/9) topi (Damaliscus lunatus)
sampled systematically in 2000 during a meat
cropping program in the Serengeti ecosystem,
and from one wildebeest and one lesser kudu
(Tragelaphus imberbis) killed by sport hunters
adjacent to Tarangire National Park. A tuberculosis
antibody enzyme immunoassay (EIA)
was used to screen serum samples collected
from 184 Serengeti lions (Panthera leo) and 19
lions from Ngorongoro Crater sampled between
1985 and 2000. Samples from 212 ungulates
collected throughout the protected area
network between 1998 and 2001 also were tested
by EIA. Serological assays detected antibodies
to M. bovis in 4% of Serengeti lions; one
positive lion was sampled in 1984. Antibodies
were detected in one of 17 (6%) buffalo (Syncerus
caffer) in Tarangire and one of 41 (2%)
wildebeest in the Serengeti. This study confirms
for the first time the presence of bovine
tuberculosis in wildlife of northern Tanzania,
but further investigation is required to assess
the impact on wildlife populations and the role
of different wildlife species in maintenance and
transmission.
Description
Journal of Wildlife Diseases 2000, 41(2):446-453.
Keywords
Bovine tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, Serengeti, Wildlife