Tuberculosis in African Wildlife

Abstract

Although the first diagnosis of tuberculosis in wildlife in Africa was made during the mid-1920s, it was only during the mid to late 1900s that the importance of the disease in wildlife became evident following its diagnosis in African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) and Kafue lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis) that are now both known to be maintenance hosts of the disease. In addition to these two species, greater kudus (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), warthogs (Phacochoerus aethiopicus), and lions (Panthera leo) appear to possibly be able to sustain the infection. This turn of events has serious implications not only for wildlife itself but also for the control and eradication of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in cattle and other livestock. It is now known to be notoriously difficult to control BTB in countries in which wildlife maintenance hosts occur, and this situation will add to the difficulty of dealing with the disease on a continent where limited resources restrict the extent to which this serious zoonotic disease can be dealt with, both in livestock and in humans. The role of wildlife in the epidemiology of BTB in cattle, and in humans, is unknown and will have to be assessed should Africa as a continent wish to participate in the international drive to eliminate tuberculosis in humans during the course of the next number of decades. This chapter provides some information about bovine tuberculosis in wildlife in Africa with emphasis on those wildlife species that have been identified as maintenance hosts.