African Buffalos in Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya.Credit: Daryona/CC BY-SA 3.0
Controlling foot and mouth disease among buffalo populations in Sub-Saharan Africa is complicated due to a high rate of infection in free ranging buffalo populations, a study published in Science, has shown.
Led by Anna Jolles from the Oregon State University, and researchers from South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Germany, the team reported that serological surveys in endemic areas demonstrate that more than 98% of buffalo have been exposed to all three Southern African Territories (SAT) serotypes (SAT1, SAT2, and SAT3) by the time they are 2 years old.
They noted that extremely contagious pathogens are a global biosecurity threat because of their high burden of morbidity and mortality, as well as their capacity for fast-moving epidemics that are difficult to stop.
Dennis Bahati, programme manager at the Animal Care Africa Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW) noted that very minimal epidemiological research has been conducted on the African buffalo with regard to its contribution to economic loss through transmission of the disease. He says more research is needed to clearly understand the disease spread at the wildlife-livestock interface and whether it will define our wildlife conservation practices as well as current livestock production systems.
