Pathology and immunohistochemistry of papillomavirus-associated cutaneous lesions in Cape mountain zebra, giraffe, sable antelope and African buffalo in South Africa

Skin lesions associated with papillomaviruses have been reported in many animal species and man. Bovine papillomavirus (BVP) affects mainly the epidermis, but also the dermis in several species including bovine, the best-known example being equine sarcoid, which is associated with BVP types 1 and 2. This publication describes and illustrates the macroscopic and histological appearance of BPV-associated papillomatous, fibropapillomatous or sarcoid-like lesions in Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) from the Gariep Dam Nature Reserve, 2 giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) from the Kruger National Park, and a sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) from the Kimberley area of South Africa. An African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) cow from Kruger National Park also had papillomatous lesions but molecular characterisation of lesional virus was not done. Immunohistochemical staining using polyclonal rabbit antiserum to chemically disrupted BPV-1, which cross-reacts with the L1 capsid of most known papillomaviruses, was positive in cells of the stratum granulosum of lesions in Giraffe 1, the sable and the buffalo and negative in those of the zebra and Giraffe 2. Fibropapillomatous and sarcoid-like lesions from an adult bovine were used as positive control for the immunohistochemistry and are described and the immunohistochemistry illustrated for comparison. Macroscopically, both adult female giraffe had severely thickened multifocal to coalescing nodular and occasionally ulcerated lesions of the head, neck and trunk with local poorly-circumscribed invasion into the subcutis. Necropsy performed on the 2nd giraffe revealed neither internal metastases nor serious underlying disease. Giraffe 1 had scattered, and Giraffe 2 numerous, large, anaplastic, at times indistinctly multinucleated dermal fibroblasts with bizarre nuclei within the sarcoid-like lesions, which were BPV-1 positive in Giraffe 1 and BPV-1 and -2 positive in Giraffe 2 by RT-PCR. The sable antelope presented with a solitary large lesion just proximal to the right hind hoof, which recurred after excision, and was BPV-1 positive by RT-PCR. Other wart-like growths were present elsewhere on the body. The Cape mountain zebra either succumbed from their massive lesions or were euthanased or removed from the herd because of them. The lesions wereBPV-1 and/or -2 positive byRT-PCR. The buffalo lesions were wart-like papillomatous projections in the inguinal and udder region. Stratum granulosum cells that stained immunohistochemically positive in the various species appeared koilocyte-like, as described in human papillomaviral lesions.

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Coccidian oocyst and nematode egg counts of free-ranging African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Kruger National Park, South Africa : research communication

Journal of the South African Veterinary Association ◽

10.4102/jsava.v71i2.689 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 71 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

B.L. Penzhorn

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

National Park ◽

Kruger National Park ◽

African Buffalo ◽

Syncerus Caffer ◽

Research Communication ◽

Nematode Eggs ◽

Coccidian Oocyst ◽

Free Ranging

Faecal specimens collected in the Kruger National Park from 103 African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) up to 1 year old and 283 buffaloes older than 1 year were examined for the presence of coccidian oocysts and nematode eggs. Most specimens from animals older than 1 year had negative coccidian oocyst counts. Positive specimens from younger animals had significantly higher coccidian oocyst counts than those from older animals. No such difference was found for nematode egg counts.

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Molecular characterisation of Anaplasma species from African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases ◽

10.1016/j.ttbdis.2017.01.003 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 400-406 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Danielle Sisson ◽

Jasmin Hufschmid ◽

Anna Jolles ◽

Brianna Beechler ◽

Abdul Jabbar

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

National Park ◽

Kruger National Park ◽

Molecular Characterisation ◽

African Buffalo ◽

Syncerus Caffer

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Copper, manganese, cobalt and selenium concentrations in liver samples from African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Kruger National ParkPresented at ENVIROMIN 2001 at Skukuza, Kruger National Park, South Africa, 14–18 July 2001.

Journal of Environmental Monitoring ◽

10.1039/b106307n ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

pp. 583-585 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

National Park ◽

Kruger National Park ◽

African Buffalo ◽

Syncerus Caffer ◽

Copper Manganese

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Challenges of Geotourism in South Africa: A Case Study of the Kruger National Park

Resources ◽

10.3390/resources10110108 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 108

Author(s):

Khodani Matshusa ◽

Llewellyn Leonard ◽

Peta Thomas

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

National Park ◽

The Body ◽

Kruger National Park ◽

Potential Contribution ◽

Significant Finding ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Social Challenges ◽

Body Of Knowledge ◽

Negative Perceptions

As a new phenomenon, geotourism research is on the rise. Although South Africa has some interesting geoheritage sites, not much has been done to investigate the potential contribution of geotourism to the tourism sector, the protection of natural resources and employment generation, let alone the challenges that may be experienced in promoting geotourism. Therefore, this paper aims to describe the concept of geotourism and to identify the challenges of geotourism. It achieves this by looking at the case of the Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in Africa, containing an abundance of geotourism sites. This research adopted a qualitative approach, with data collection involving semi-structured interviews with sixteen key informants to understand the challenges of geotourism. Manual content analysis was employed for analysing the data. A significant finding was that there were seven potential challenges in promoting and developing geotourism in the Kruger National Park: (1) a lack of packaging and marketing; (2) a lack of infrastructure; (3) security and access to geoheritage sites by tourists; (4) access to finance and markets; (5) destruction of geoheritage sites; (6) social challenges and (7) regulatory challenges. The results indicated that these challenges of geotourism can lead to negative perceptions about geotourism and can negatively impact the potential for geotourism development towards effective local social sustainability, especially for communities abutting the KNP. The major contribution of this study is its expansion of the geotourism academic literature through newly generated data on the challenges of geotourism in South Africa. Furthermore, this study theoretically contributes to the body of knowledge on geotourism and its challenges in Africa, particularly regarding the Kruger National Park.

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Nematodes of the small intestine of African buffaloes, Syncerus caffer, in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research ◽

10.4102/ojvr.v80i1.562 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 80 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

William A. Taylor ◽

John D. Skinner ◽

Joop Boomker

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Small Intestine ◽

National Park ◽

Nematode Species ◽

Kruger National Park ◽

African Buffalo ◽

Syncerus Caffer ◽

Large Mammal ◽

Parasitic Helminths ◽

Abundance And Distribution

The abundance and distribution of parasitic helminths in populations of African buffaloes, Syncerus caffer, have not been well documented. A total of 28 buffaloes of different ages and sexeswere sampled in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, for nematodes of the small intestine. Three nematode species were identified, namely Cooperia fuelleborni, Cooperia hungi and Trichostrongylus deflexus, with C. hungi being a new country record for African buffalo in South Africa. The overall prevalence was 71%and the average number of worms was 2346 (range: 0–15 980). This is a small burden for such a large mammal. Sex, age and body condition of the buffaloes had no significant effect on worm occurrence.

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Modeling the spatial distribution of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0182903 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. e0182903

Author(s):

Kristen Hughes ◽

Geoffrey T. Fosgate ◽

Christine M. Budke ◽

Michael P. Ward ◽

Ruth Kerry ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Spatial Distribution ◽

National Park ◽

Kruger National Park ◽

African Buffalo ◽

Syncerus Caffer

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Prevalence and molecular identification of Trichinella species isolated from wildlife originating from Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa

Journal of Helminthology ◽

10.1017/s0022149x17001079 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 93 (1) ◽

pp. 50-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

S. Mukaratirwa ◽

L.J. La Grange ◽

M.P. Malatji ◽

B. Reininghaus ◽

J. Lamb

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

National Park ◽

Natural Infection ◽

Molecular Techniques ◽

The Body ◽

Kruger National Park ◽

African Countries ◽

Full Spectrum ◽

Wildlife Species ◽

Monitor Lizard

AbstractTrichinella species are widely distributed on all continents with the exception of Antarctica, although the full spectrum of Trichinella species found in sub-Saharan African countries, and their hosts, has not been fully documented. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Trichinella in wildlife from the Greater Kruger National Park (GKNP) and adjacent areas located in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa, and to identify the species and/or genotypes of Trichinella larvae isolated from muscle tissues, using molecular techniques. A review of Trichinella spp. and their wildlife hosts reported during 1964–2011 was also conducted and the results were compared with our current study. Ninety samples representing 15 mammalian, two bird and three reptile species were screened for Trichinella infection during 2012–2016, using artificial digestion. Isolates detected were identified using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the internal transcriber spacers ITS1 and ITS2, and expansion segment V (ESV) regions of ribosomal DNA, followed by molecular analysis of the sequences. Twenty samples from seven wildlife species were positive for Trichinella spp. larvae, with an overall prevalence of 21.1% (20/90). The prevalence was higher in carnivores (18.9%, 18/90) than in omnivores (2.2%, 2/90). Analysis of sequences showed that eight of the isolates – two from spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) (2/8), three from lion (Panthera leo) (3/13), one from leopard (Panthera pardus) (1/6), one from small spotted genet (Genetta genetta) (1/2) and one Nile monitor lizard (Varanus niloticus) (1/2) – conformed to Trichinella zimbabwensis. One isolate from a hyaena was grouped under the encapsulated species clade comprising T. nelsoni and genotype Trichinella T8 reported to be present in South Africa. This is the first report confirming natural infection by T. zimbabwensis in hyaena, leopard, genet and Nile monitor lizard, adding to the body of knowledge on the epidemiology of Trichinella infections in the Greater Kruger National Park of South Africa. Ten Trichinella-like larval isolates recovered after digestion from four wildlife species in this study (2012–2016) revealed inconclusive results due to DNA degradation resulting from poor storage or too few larvae for analysis, in comparison to 20 unidentified isolates from five wildlife species during the 1964–2011 period.

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