Serosurvey for selected viral agents in white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) in Kruger National Park, 2007

J Zoo Wildl Med. 2011 Mar;42(1):29-32. doi: 10.1638/2009-0176.1.

Abstract

One hundred serum samples collected from free-ranging white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) in Kruger National Park (KNP) during the 2007 capture season were selected for measurement of antibody levels to several different vector-borne viral agents. These infectious diseases were chosen to compare with an earlier serosurvey that had been conducted in KNP in rhinos during 1987-1997. Positive antibody titers were found against epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) of deer (8%), Bluetongue (BT) (1%), and Rift Valley fever (RVF) (49%). However, none of the 100 animals tested had detected antibody levels to African horse sickness (AHS). These values were in sharp contrast to those measured in the 1987-1997 survey in KNP white rhinos (AHS 60%, EHD 30%, BT 37%, RVF 0%). Vector-borne viral infection prevalence in white rhinos in the same geographical location appears to vary over time and may be important for monitoring presence of pathogens in an ecosystem.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood
  • Perissodactyla / blood*
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • South Africa / epidemiology
  • Virus Diseases / blood
  • Virus Diseases / epidemiology
  • Virus Diseases / immunology
  • Virus Diseases / veterinary*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral