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Volume 22, Number 2—February 2016
Dispatch

African Buffalo Movement and Zoonotic Disease Risk across Transfrontier Conservation Areas, Southern Africa

Alexandre CaronComments to Author , Daniel Cornelis, Chris Foggin, Markus Hofmeyr, and Michel de Garine-Wichatitsky
Author affiliations: University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa (A. Caron); CIRAD, Montpellier, France (A. Caron, D. Cornelis, M. de Garine-Wichatitsky); CIRAD, Harare, Zimbabwe (A. Caron, D. Cornelis, M. de Garine-Wichatitsky); Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (C. Foggin); South African National Parks, Skukuza, South Africa (M. Hofmeyr); University of Zimbabwe, Harare (M. de Garine-Wichatitsky)

Main Article

Table

Diagnostic results for bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis, and Rift Valley fever in African buffalo populations sampled in Kruger National Park, South Africa, and on the northern bank of the Limpopo River, Sengwe Communal Land, Zimbabwe, 2010 and 2011*

Type of infection tested for† No. positive/no. total
Calf
 Subadult
 Adult
 All animals‡
M F M F M F
Bovine tuberculosis 0/4 0/5 2/11 4/25 0/9 2/23 8/77 (4/38)
Brucellosis 0/4 1/5 1/12 4/28 2/9 5/25 13/83 (0/38)§
Rift Valley fever 0/4 0/5 0/12 1/31 1/9 3/28 5/89 (2/38)

*Individuals and herds belong to the same population (see Figure 1, adult female home range). Calf, <2.5 y of age; subadult, 2.5–4.5 y; adult, >4.5 y.
†Laboratory tests used: for bovine tuberculosis, Gamma-interferon test and isolation; for brucellosis, Rose Bengal and Complement fixation tests; for Rift Valley fever, indirect ELISA test.
‡Published results (9) for the same diseases tested in the Gonarezhou National Park buffalo population in Zimbabwe are shown in parentheses.
§Difference between Kruger and Gonarezhou population results for brucellosis was significant by Fisher exact test for equality of proportion for small samples (p<0.02).

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References
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Page created: January 15, 2016
Page updated: January 15, 2016
Page reviewed: January 15, 2016
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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