However, whether infected animals would develop disease if compromised is unknown. The low number of positive cases and localized paucibacillary lesions support the hypothesis that white rhinoceroses, although susceptible to infection, are able to limit disease progression ( 10). The timing of infections suggests that animals under nutritional stress might be more susceptible to infection, similar to observations in other species ( 9). ‡No clinically significant lesions other than inflammation (poaching case).įour of the infected animals were found during September–November 2016, near the end of the drought, and the remaining 2 animals were found in September and October 2017, at the end of the next winter. †LNs were pooled into 4 sets: head (retropharyngeal, submandibular, and cervical) thoracic (tracheobronchial and mediastinal) abdominal (mesenteric and hepatic) and peripheral (axillary, prescapular, and inguinal) LNs. *AFB, acid-fast bacilli LN, lymph node ND, not done TB, tuberculosis + feature present – feature absent. Tracheobronchial, prescapular, and retropharyngeal LNs and lung + Lung and prescapular, retropharyngeal, and tracheobronchial LNs – Lung + submandibular, retropharyngeal, tracheobronchial, and mesenteric LNs Head, thoracic, and peripheral LNs and lung Macroscopic, multifocal mineralized granulomas bovis isolates as strain SB0121, the most common strain found in KNP ( 8).įeatures of lesions consistent with bovine TB†
On histologic examination, we found granulomatous inflammation in lung or lymph node sections and rare acid-fast organisms in some granulomas ( Table). Grossly visible lesions, mostly found in the retropharyngeal or tracheobronchial lymph nodes or lung, were typically small and localized and could easily be missed or mistaken for granulomas caused by other pathogens if careful dissections of tissues were not performed ( Technical Appendix). bovis infection in 6 white rhinoceroses ( Table). bovis infection were found in black rhinoceroses. Research protocols were approved by the South African National Park Animal Use and Care Committee and ethics committee of Stellenbosch University. To determine which animals were infected, we conducted macroscopic examinations and collected samples for histopathologic studies and mycobacterial culture, as previously described ( 7). Thereafter, a surveillance program was initiated to screen rhinoceros carcasses in KNP, leading to 35 white and 5 black rhinoceros carcasses being examined during June 2016–October 2017. In June 2016, a black rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis minor) with an M. However, prolonged drought in South Africa (2015–2017) raised concerns that starvation and disease could increase the mortality rate and affect conservation efforts for this species ( 5). KNP contains the largest free-living population of white rhinoceroses in the world (estimated at 6,649–7,830). Bovine TB is endemic in many wildlife populations worldwide, including among those in Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa ( 4). bovis has been reported in captive rhinoceroses since the early 1800s ( 1 – 3). More southern white rhinoceroses are expected to be sent to Garamba National Park in the future.Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis or M. "This reintroduction is the start of a process whereby southern white rhino as the closest genetic alternative can fulfil the role of the northern white rhino in the landscape," he said. But conflict, poaching and chronic insecurity in volatile Congo has decimated its wildlife over the years.Īfrican Parks CEO Peter Fearnhead was also quoted in the statement as saying that efforts to save the northern white rhinos in the park had been "too little, too late". The operation was led by the ICCN, conservation NGO African Parks, and Canadian mining firm Barrick Gold, which sponsored the rhino move.Įstablished in 1938, Garamba national park is one of Africa's oldest. "The return of white rhinos to the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a testament to our country’s commitment to biodiversity conservation," Yves Milan Ngangay, the director general of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), said in a statement. According to a joint statement from the park and conservation groups, 16 southern white rhinos have been transported from a private reserve in South Africa to Garamba.
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