School of Veterinary Medicine, Clinical Studies Department

The complement fixation test (CFT), the c-ELISA and an indirect LppQ ELISA were compared to post-mortem (PM) inspection for the diagnosis of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP). Sera from 797 cattle in the CBPP affected area of Kazungula, Zambia and 202 sera from Lusaka, Zambia, a CBPP-free area were used. The clinical history of CBPP was recorded and all the cattle from Kazungula were slaughtered and PM inspections conducted. The prevalence of CBPP in Kazungula was 67.5% (95%CI 67.2%, 70.8%), 52.6% (95%CI 49.2%, 56.2%), 59.0% (95%CI 55.5%, 62.4%) and 44.4% (95%CI 41.0%, 47.9%) using PM inspection, CFT, c-ELISA and LppQ ELISA, respectively. Three of the 202 negative control animals tested positive on the c-ELISA although they were from a known CBPP negative zone. In this study, the c-ELISA was more sensitive in detecting cattle with lesions in the chronic stage than any other test whilst the CFT detected more during the onset stage. No single serological test could detect all stages of CBPP infection, therefore the use of more than one test is advised.

There has been an increase in the number of wild ungulates kept in captivity for ecotourism and conservation in Zambia and these animals are susceptible to a number of diseases including gastrointestinal helminth infections. Surveys to determine anthelmintic efficacy to gastrointestinal nematodes in captive-wildlife are not common and there have been no reports of anthelmintic resistance in captive-wildlife in Zambia. This study was carried out to determine the efficacy of the benzimidazole anthelmintic fenbendazole in captive wild impala (Aepyceros melampus) in Zambia. During the month of April 2011, at the end of the rainy season, the faecal egg count reduction test was performed at a private game facility for assessing anthelmintic efficacy of oral fenbendazole and the anthelmintic treatment showed an efficacy of 90%. Haemonchus spp. and Trichostrongylus spp. were the predominant genera present before treatment, but Haemonchus spp. larvae were the only genus recovered from the faecal cultures after anthelmintic treatment. This represents the first documentation of anthelmintic treatment failure in captive wild-antelopes in Zambia. It also demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the common traditional practice of deworming captive-wild antelopes at the end of the rainy season due to the rapid re-infection of impala that occurs due to high pasture infectivity. Suggestions on changes to current anthelmintic use/practices that will make them more efficacious and reduce the possibility of development of anthelmintic resistance in captive wild game in Zambia are also made.

Background Two types of lechwe antelopes exclusively exist in their natural ecosystems in Zambia; the Black lechwe (Kobus leche smithemani) and the Kafue lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis). Despite inhabiting similar ecosystems, tuberculosis has been reported in Kafue lechwe without its documentation in Black lechwe antelopes. However, the past few decades have seen a drastic decline in both lechwe populations. Whereas studies have postulated that infectious diseases such as tuberculosis are having a negative impact on the Kafue lechwe population, no information is available on Black lechwe antelopes. Thus this study was conducted to investigate tuberculosis in Black lechwe antelopes of the Bangweulu swamps in comparison with the Kafue lechwe antelopes of Lochinvar. Findings A total of 44 lechwe antelopes (Black (n = 30): Kafue (n = 14) were sampled from Bangweulu and Lochinvar respectively. A positive case was defined with findings of gross lesions with Ziehl Nielsen and culture confirmation. Out of the 14 animals examined in Lochinvar, 21.4% [95% CI: 15.4, 44.4%] had necropsy lesions consistent with tuberculosis. The corresponding samples from 30 Black lechwe of Bangweulu yielded negative results on all the three tests. Conclusions Current findings from this study intimate the possible absence of tuberculosis in Black lechwe antelopes whilst confirming the presence of tuberculosis in Kafue lechwe of the Kafue basin. The absence of tuberculosis in the Black lechwe suggests that the observed population decline may not be caused by tuberculosis. However, without detailed molecular epidemiological studies it is not possible to determine the association of M. bovis infection in sympatric animal populations. The possible role of transmission of tuberculosis between wildlife and cattle is discussed herein. Findings

ABSTRACT A cross sectional parasitological survey was carried out to determine the presence of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME) and hepatozoonosis in dogs in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. Convenient sampling was carried out and a total of 219 blood samples were examined using a combination of peripheral blood smear and buffy coat smear cytological examination. Five hundred oil immersion fields (x1000) were examined for each smear. The prevalence of CME in hospital population canine blood samples was 7.3% (95% CI 4.2 – 11.6%) and 43.8% of the samples positive for E. canis were also co-infected with Babesia species, whilst 77.8% of the samples positive for Babesia were also positive for Ehrlichia. The buffy coat smears were more sensitive at picking up infections than the peripheral blood smears. The prevalence of H. canis from this study was 3.6% (95% CI 1.6 – 7.1%). The study however, did not demonstrate co-infection of H. canis with other haemoparasites. For both Ehrlichia and Hepatozoon, dogs less than 2 years had a higher prevalence of infection than older dogs. Anaemia was the most common haematological abnormality in blood samples infected with both haemoparasites. This study represents the first report of both Hepatozoon and Ehrlichia species in dogs in Zambia.

Ex-situ conservancies are expanding alternatives to livestock production in Zambia albeit the lack of information on circulating infectious parasites from wildlife. Therefore, 12 wildlife species were examined on a game ranch were all species were found to be infected by Rhipecephalus spp. Haemoparasite infections were estimated at 7.37% (n = 95) with Babesia spp. detected in bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus); Anaplasma marginale in impala (Aepyceros melampus) and puku (Kobus vardonii) for the first time in Zambia. The majority of worm species isolated from bovids were not detected in equids and, vice versa. Our findings intimate ecological and behavioural patterns of some animals as deterministic to exposure. Kafue lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis) had the widest range of worm species with more infected organs than other animals suggesting their semi aquatic nature contributory to prolonged worm exposure compared to other animals. On the other hand, Kafue lechwe had the least tick infections attributable more to shorter attachment periods as they spend prolonged periods submerged in water. Our findings indicate the vital role that wildlife plays in the epidemiology of parasitic diseases. To reduce the infection burden, control measures should be focused on reducing transmission to highly susceptible animal species as described herein.

Babesia spp. were detected from 4 asymptomatic pukus captured on a game ranch in central Zambia in October 2008. Blood smears were examined in 4 species of aymptomatic free-ranging antelopes, namely the puku (Kobus vordanii), reedbuck (Redunca arundinum), bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvaticus), and kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), and showed the presence of Babesia parasites only in the puku. In the puku, the prevalence of babesiosis was estimated at 33.3% (n = 12), while the overall prevalence in all examined animals was 8.5% (n = 47). The parasites showed morphological characteristics of paired ring-like stages with the length varying between 1.61 µm and 3.02 µm (mean = 2.12 µm, n = 27; SD = 0.76 µm). Both the infected and non-infected pukus showed good body condition scores (BCS), while the dominant tick species detected from all animals were Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus spp., and Boophilus spp. To our knowledge this is the first report of Babesia spp. infection in pukus in Zambia. These findings suggest that wildlife could play an important role in the epidemiology of babesiosis in Zambia.

ABSTRACT Blood samples were concurrently collected from 269 local breed dogs during a study to determine the prevelance of gastrointestinal (GI) helminths and the results matched with those of faecal samples. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of GI helminth infection on the clinical health indices and evaluate the ability of age and GI infection status to predict these parameters for local breed dogs in Zambia. Two hundred and sixty nine dogs were sampled and of these 211 (78.4%) were parasitized with Ancylostoma caninum, Toxocara canis, Dipylidium caninum, Trichuris vulpis or Toxascaris leonine while 21.56% (58/269) were non-parasitized. Dogs with T. canis single infection exhibited a slight eosinophilia and reduction in the PCV below the normal reference range but the total plasma protein (TPP) was within the normal reference range. Dogs with A. caninum single infection showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) in PCV, eosinophil, and TPP as compared to non - parasitized dogs. The mean PCV, eosinophil, and TPP of dogs with two and three co-infecting helminths were not significantly different (p>0.05) with those of non – parasitized dogs. Dogs aged less than 3 months with two co-infecting GI helminths had comparable mean PCV, TPP and eosinophil to those with one or no GI helminths. Age was more of a significant predictor of PCV and TPP-value in local breed dogs and this was independent of dogs GI helminth status. In conclusion, the findings of this study may suggest that local breed dogs in Zambia infected with GI helminths clinically have eosinophil, PCV and TPP-values that are within normal reference range.