Experimental Mycobacterium bovis infection in three white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum): Susceptibility, clinical and anatomical pathology.

Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis is endemic in the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) population in the Kruger National Park and other conservation areas in South Africa. The disease has been diagnosed in a total of 21 free ranging or semi-free ranging wildlife species in the country with highly variable presentations in terms of clinical signs as well as severity and distribution of tuberculous lesions. Most species are spillover or dead-end hosts without significant role in the epidemiology of the disease. White rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) are translocated from the Kruger National Park in substantial numbers every year and a clear understanding of their risk to manifest overt tuberculosis disease and to serve as source of infection to other species is required. We report the findings of experimental infection of three white rhinoceroses with a moderately low dose of a virulent field isolate of Mycobacterium bovis. None of the animals developed clinical signs or disseminated disease. The susceptibility of the white rhinoceros to bovine tuberculosis was confirmed by successful experimental infection based on the ante mortem isolation of M. bovis from the respiratory tract of one rhinoceros, the presence of acid-fast organisms and necrotizing granulomatous lesions in the tracheobronchial lymph nodes and the detection of M. bovis genetic material by PCR in the lungs of two animals.

Feline panleukopaenia virus in captive non-domestic felids in South Africa.

An outbreak of feline panleukopaenia virus (FPLV) infection was diagnosed by pathology, electron microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in vaccinated captive-bred subadult cheetahs in South Africa. Subsequent to this disease outbreak, 12 cases of FPLV diagnosed on histology were confirmed by PCR in captive African black-footed cat, caracal, cheetah, lion, ocelot and serval. Phylogenetic analyses of the viral capsid protein gene on PCR-positive samples, vaccine and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) reference strains identified a previously unknown strain of FPLV, present since at least 2006, that differs from both the inactivated and the modified live vaccine strains. A previously described South African strain from domestic cats and cheetahs was identified in a serval. Surveys of FPLV strains in South African felids are needed to determine the geographical and host species distribution of this virus. Since non-domestic species may be reservoirs of parvoviruses, and since these viruses readily change host specificity, the risks of FPLV transmission between captive-bred and free-ranging carnivores and domestic cats and dogs warrant further research.

Application of Rapid Serologic Tests for Detection of Mycobacterium bovis Infection in Free-Ranging Warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus)--Implications for Antemortem Disease Screening.

Warthogs (Phacochoerus africanus) have been implicated as potential maintenance hosts of Mycobacterium bovis. Our preliminary investigation of bovine tuberculosis in three warthogs describes pathologic findings and associated positive serologic results in two infected animals. This demonstrates the potential use of serodiagnostic tests for M. bovis infection in this species.

Suspected lead poisoning in two captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) in South Africa, in 2008 and 2013.

Whilst lead poisoning in raptors, scavenging birds and waterfowl is well studied and common knowledge, there is surprisingly little literature detailing the risk to mammalian scavengers and captive carnivores fed hunted meat. This case report describes the death of two captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) following acute onset of nervous symptoms. Clinical signs included hyper-excitability, seizures, arched back, tail held abnormally high and hyper-salivation. Necropsy findings included bullets or a bullet in their stomachs. Kidney and liver lead levels from one cheetah (15.6 ppm and 17 ppm respectively) were consistent with a diagnosis of lead poisoning; liver from the second cheetah was not available for testing. Both animals were routinely fed hunted antelope or game birds. This is the first report of oral lead poisoning in captive large carnivores, although these are unlikely to be the first cases. Without awareness of the risks of feeding hunted game, lead exposure will continue to be an underdiagnosed reality in the rehabilitation of endangered carnivores.

A systematic health assessment of indian ocean bottlenose (Tursiops aduncus) and indo-pacific humpback (Sousa plumbea) dolphins incidentally caught in shark nets off the KwaZulu-Natal Coast, South Africa.

Coastal dolphins are regarded as indicators of changes in coastal marine ecosystem health that could impact humans utilizing the marine environment for food or recreation. Necropsy and histology examinations were performed on 35 Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) and five Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa plumbea) incidentally caught in shark nets off the KwaZulu-Natal coast, South Africa, between 2010 and 2012. Parasitic lesions included pneumonia (85%), abdominal and thoracic serositis (75%), gastroenteritis (70%), hepatitis (62%), and endometritis (42%). Parasitic species identified were Halocercus sp. (lung), Crassicauda sp. (skeletal muscle) and Xenobalanus globicipitis (skin). Additional findings included bronchiolar epithelial mineralisation (83%), splenic filamentous tags (45%), non-suppurative meningoencephalitis (39%), and myocardial fibrosis (26%). No immunohistochemically positive reaction was present in lesions suggestive of dolphin morbillivirus, Toxoplasma gondii and Brucella spp. The first confirmed cases of lobomycosis and sarcocystosis in South African dolphins were documented. Most lesions were mild, and all animals were considered to be in good nutritional condition, based on blubber thickness and muscle mass. Apparent temporal changes in parasitic disease prevalence may indicate a change in the host/parasite interface. This study provided valuable baseline information on conditions affecting coastal dolphin populations in South Africa and, to our knowledge, constitutes the first reported systematic health assessment in incidentally caught dolphins in the Southern Hemisphere. Further research on temporal disease trends as well as disease pathophysiology and anthropogenic factors affecting these populations is needed.

Diet and diet-related disorders in captive ruminants at the national zoological gardens of South Africa.

Although diet-related disorders have received much attention in the zoo literature, evidence-based results on relationships between diet and disease are still rare, often due to a lack of quantitative dietary information that can be linked to clinical or necropsy reports. We investigated 24 species of captive ruminants from one facility for which quantitative feeding instructions and necropsy reports between 1991 and 2012 were available. Species were classified as grazer (GR), intermediate feeder (IM), or browser (BR). Feeding type and body mass were significantly correlated to the diet fed, with smaller and BR species receiving higher proportions of non-roughage diet items. There were no significant differences between feeding types in the occurrence of parakeratosis/ruminitis/acidosis (PRA) at necropsy, but in body condition score, with BR more often in poor and less often in excellent body condition at necropsy. While there was no direct correlation between the proportion of non-roughage diet items and PRA across species, there was a significant effect of the proportion of non-roughage diet items on PRA when body mass was also taken into account: larger species, and those that received more non-roughage diet items, had higher prevalence of PRA. The results underline that diet and lack of structured feed items can be associated with the disease complex of acidosis in ruminants, but also suggest that this is modified by factors related to animal size. These latter may include susceptibility to acidosis, or husbandry-related opportunities to monopolize non-roughage feeds and ingest higher proportions than intended by feeding instructions.

Sarcocystis cafferi n. sp. (Protozoa: Apicomplexa) from the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer).

Sarcocystis infections have been reported from the African buffalo ( Syncerus caffer ), but the species have not been named. Here we propose a new name Sarcocystis cafferi from the African buffalo. Histological examination of heart (92), skeletal muscle (36), and tongue (2) sections from 94 buffalos from the Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa, and a review of the literature revealed only 1 species of Sarcocystis in the African buffalo. Macrocysts were up to 12 mm long and 6 mm wide and were located in the neck muscles and overlying connective tissue. They were pale yellow; shaped like a lychee fruit stone or cashew nut; turgid or flaccid and oval to round (not fusiform). By light microscopy (LM) the sarcocyst wall was relatively thin. By scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the sarcocyst wall had a mesh-like structure with irregularly shaped villar protrusions (vp) that were of different sizes and folded over the sarcocyst wall. The entire surfaces of vp were covered with papillomatous structures. By transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the sarcocyst wall was up to 3.6 µm thick and had highly branched villar protrusions that were up to 3 µm long. The villar projections contained filamentous tubular structures, most of which were parallel to the long axis of the projections, but some tubules criss-crossed, especially at the base. Granules were absent from these tubules. Longitudinally cut bradyzoites were 12.1 × 2.7 µm in size, had a long convoluted mitochondrion, and only 2 rhoptries. Phylogenetic analysis of 18S rRNA and cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene sequences indicated that this Sarcocystis species is very closely related to, but distinct from, Sarcocystis fusiformis and Sarcocystis hirsuta. Thus, morphological findings by LM, SEM, and TEM together with molecular phylogenetic data (from 18S rRNA and cox1) confirm that the Sarcocystis species in the African buffalo is distinct from S. fusiformis and has therefore been named Sarcocystis cafferi.

Subcutaneous xanthomatosis in a great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus).

A great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) was referred for assessment of a subacute-onset, nonpainful swelling located in the pectoral region. Physical examination revealed a firm, round, well-circumscribed subcutaneous mass approximately 10 cm in diameter. Cytological evaluation of a fine needle aspirate of the mass was consistent with a mesenchymal tumor. The mass was excised, and a diagnosis of xanthomatosis was made based on histopathologic results. Avian xanthomatosis is a nonneoplastic condition of unknown etiology. Possible causes of this condition include trauma, metabolic or nutritional disorders. Similar lesions were not observed in the nine conspecifics that were fed the same diet and housed in the same enclosure. To our knowledge, this is the first report of xanthomatosis in the family Pelecanidae.

Two new species of Cylicospirura Vevers, 1922 (Nematoda: Spirocercidae) from carnivores in southern Africa, with validation of the related genera Gastronodus Singh, 1934 and Skrjabinocercina Matschulsky, 1952.

Two new species of Cylicospirura Vevers, 1922 are described from carnivores from southern Africa. Cylicospirura crocutae Junker et Mutafchiev sp. n. from Crocuta crocuta (Erxleben) in Zimbabwe is distinguished from its congeners by combinations of characters, including the presence of four cephalic and four external labial papillae, while internal labial papillae were not distinct, the presence of groups of small accessory teeth between the six large tricuspid teeth, the fifth and the sixth pairs of the caudal papillae being equidistant from the cloaca, and a large ratio of length of the muscular oesophagus to that of the glandular oesophagus. Cylicospirura pardalis Junker et Mutafchiev sp. n. from Panthera pardus (Linnaeus) in the Republic of South Africa is characterized by having tricuspid teeth with large, claw-like, abaxial cusps, four cephalic and six internal labial papillae. Based on the number of caudal papillae and the position of the vulva, the subgenera Gastronodus Singh, 1934 and Skrjabinocercina Matschulsky, 1952 are re-elevated to generic rank. Amended diagnoses are proposed for the genera Cylicospirura, Gastronodus and Skrjabinocercina. Petrowospirura lyncis Matschulsky, 1952 is recognized as valid and, together with P. petrowi Sadykhov, 1957 and P. barusi Arya, 1979, is transferred to Cylicospirura as C. lyncis (Matschulsky, 1952) Junker et Mutafchiev comb. n., C. petrowi (Sadykhov, 1957) Junker et Mutafchiev comb. n. and C. barusi (Arya, 1979) Junker et Mutafchiev comb. n., respectively.

Computed tomography imaging of a leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis pardalis) with confirmed pulmonary fibrosis: a case report.

An approximately 20-year-old, female Leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis pardalis) was presented with dypsnea, wheezing, anorexia and depression. Whole body radiographs revealed generalized diffuse unstructured 'interstitial lung pattern' with thickened pulmonary septae while computed tomography (CT) showed emphysematous lung parenchyma and thickened pulmonary septae bordered by irregular ground-glass opacity with smaller areas of 'honeycombing'. These imaging findings together with histopathologic findings were compatible with chronic, extensive 'interstitial' pulmonary fibrosis.

Pansteatitis of unknown etiology associated with large-scale Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) mortality in Kruger National Park, South Africa: pathologic findings.

Annual mortality events in Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) in the Olifants River Gorge in Kruger National Park, South Africa, were experienced between 2008 and 2012, during which at least 216 crocodiles died. Live crocodiles were lethargic. Necropsy examination of 56 affected crocodiles showed dark yellow-brown firm nodules in both somatic fat and the abdominal fat body. In all of the 11 crocodiles submitted for histology, degenerative, necrotic, and inflammatory changes supported a diagnosis of steatitis in both fat types. Crocodiles are apex predators in this anthropogenically changed aquatic ecosystem that is used by humans upstream and downstream from the park for domestic, agricultural, fishing, and recreational purposes. This pathologic review of pansteatitis in crocodiles in the Olifants River system was part of a broad multidisciplinary research program. To date, no definitive causative agent has been identified. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that this event may have been a one-time event with long-standing repercussions on the health of the crocodiles. Pathologic findings are rarely documented in wild crocodilians. This study also reports on other conditions, including the presence of coccidian oocysts, capillarid and filaroid nematodes, digenetic trematodes, and pentastomes.

Preliminary evaluation of selected minerals in liver samples from springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) from the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa.

Limited information is available on the mineral nutrition of captive antelope in South Africa. Zoo animals are usually offered a very limited array of feeds, which may result in nutritional imbalances. As a pilot study to investigate the presence of myopathy in antelope at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG), stored liver samples from six springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) and seven other antelopes from the NZG, as well as selected food items, were submitted for analysis of selenium, copper, manganese and zinc content by spectrophotometry. Springbok liver levels of copper were 23.07 mg/kg ± 0.72 mg/kg, whilst manganese, selenium and zinc levels were 6.73 mg/kg ± 0.22 mg/kg, 0.14 mg/kg ± 0.05 mg/kg and 135.02 mg/kg ± 1.26 mg/kg, respectively. Liver mineral levels in the other species were very variable. Food item copper levels ranged from 4.00 mg/kg (Eragrostis tef) to 17.38 mg/kg (antelope cubes), lucerne (Medicago sativa) and E. tef contained no detectable selenium. The highest zinc levels were in antelope cubes (147.00 mg/kg) and the lowest were in lucerne (20.80 mg/kg). Interpretation of these results was hampered by the small number of samples and a paucity of information on liver mineral levels in free-ranging and captive antelope; however, results suggested that, in the springbok, whilst copper and manganese intake are likely adequate, selenium nutrition is probably insufficient and may account for the myopathy diagnosed. Zinc liver levels are possibly within the toxic range, perhaps as a result of the high levels of zinc in the antelope cubes. This pilot study highlighted the need to establish baseline mineral nutrition data for captive and freeranging antelope under South African conditions.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis: an emerging disease of free-ranging wildlife.

Expansion of ecotourism-based industries, changes in land-use practices, and escalating competition for resources have increased contact between free-ranging wildlife and humans. Although human presence in wildlife areas may provide an important economic benefit through ecotourism, exposure to human pathogens may represent a health risk for wildlife. This report is the first to document introduction of a primary human pathogen into free-ranging wildlife. We describe outbreaks of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a human pathogen, in free-ranging banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) in Botswana and suricates (Suricata suricatta) in South Africa. Wildlife managers and scientists must address the potential threat that humans pose to the health of free-ranging wildlife.