Abstract
The populations of wild felids in Africa, of especially lions (Panthera leo) and cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), are declining and the species are classified as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. As infections with tick-borne pathogens (TBP) can become more of a problem in wild felids, there are relatively few studies on TBP in wild felids in Africa and on how these infections might influence population numbers. To gain further knowledge on TBP in captive wild felids in Southern Africa, we collected whole blood from captive lions, Southern African wildcats, cheetahs and servals in Zimbabwe for PCRs against the 18S rRNA gene of the piroplasmids (Babesia, Theileria, Cytauxzoon) and Hepatozoon spp., and the 16S rRNA gene of Ehrlichia and Anaplasma spp. Overall, 78% of the lions (67/86) and all the Southern African wildcats (6/6), cheetahs (4/4) and servals (2/2) had evidence of infection with at least one organism. The organisms most commonly detected in the lions were B. leo (59%; 51/86), B. vogeli (12%; 10/86) and H. felis (11%; 9/86) while all the Southern African wildcats and servals were positive for B. vogeli and all the cheetahs were positive for B. leo. Mixed infections were found in 22% (15/67) of the PCR positive lions, most commonly B. leo and H. felis (27%; 4/15), and in 1 (50%) of the servals (B. vogeli and A. phagocytophilum). Two lions were infected with three TBP, mainly B. leo, H. canis and T. parva, and B. leo, A. phagocytophilum and T. sinensis. Mixed infections with B. vogeli and A. phagocytophilum were seen in a serval and a Southern African wildcat. Other TBP were detected at a low prevalence (?2%) in lions, mainly H. canis, T. sinensis, T. parva, C. manul, E. canis, and E. canis-like and B. odocoilei-like organisms. Infections with tick-borne agents are common in captive wild felids in Zimbabwe.
Highlights
The populations of wild felids in Africa, of especially lions (Panthera leo) and cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), are declining and the species are classified as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
Sequences with under 100% identity and at least 200 base pairs in length were submitted to GenBank and the following accession numbers were obtained: KJ598879 - 94% identity with E. canis, KJ598888 - 97.6% identity with E. canis, KJ598889 - 99.4% identity with A. phagocytophilum; KJ598890 - 99.5% identity with A. phagocytophilum; KJ598891 – 99.3% identity with A. phagocytophilum, KJ598880 - 97.5% identity with B. vogeli; KJ598881 - 94.8% identity with B. odocoilei; KJ598882 - 94.6% identity with B. odocoilei; KJ598886 99.3% identity with H. felis; KJ598887 - 99.2% identity with H. felis; KM211712 - 99.5% identity with T. parva
Each of the nine recognized tick-borne pathogens (TBP) we found, as well as B. odocoilei-like and E. canis-like organisms, were present in the lions while only B. vogeli and A. phagocytophilum were found in Southern African wildcats and servals, and only B. leo in cheetahs
Summary
The populations of wild felids in Africa, of especially lions (Panthera leo) and cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), are declining and the species are classified as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. More recent studies using molecular methods have provided greater details on the agents that infect lions and cheetahs but only five have been carried out to date describing the situation in 436 lions and 142 cheetah in seven countries: 81 lions from South Africa and Swaziland and 137 cheetah from South Africa and Namibia [5], 21 lions in Botswana [6], 301 lions in Tanzania [7], 9 lions and 5 cheetah in Kenya [8] and 24 lions in Zambia [9] To add to this current knowledge, we studied TBP in lions, Southern African wildcats, cheetahs and serval (Leptailurus serval) from Zimbabwe and describe our findings below
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