Rabies in African wild dogs (Lycaon pitus) in the Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa

An Infectious Disease and Mortality Survey in a Population of Free-Ranging African Wild Dogs and Sympatric Domestic Dogs

“…Clinical signs consistent with rabies were observed in another animal before it disappeared, within one month of the pack being observed feeding on a kill with a domestic dog inside park borders at the start of the rabies outbreak. These observations are consistent with rabies being the probable cause of mortalities for the iMfolozi pack, particularly given the highly contagious nature of the virus, the ease with which rabies could be transmitted between pack members due to close social interactions [47], and the rapid mortality rates observed in other African wild dog packs infected with rabies [30,32,48]. The case for disease as the cause of mortality is strengthened by the lack of a convincing alternative explanation, given that the other known common causes of mortality for KZN wild dogs (snaring, predation, and vehicle strike) would be highly unlikely to result in the loss of so many pack members in such a short time frame.…”

“…Major confirmed rabies outbreaks in free-ranging African wild dogs also include those reported in the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya [30,31], Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa [32,33], and Etosha National Park in Namibia [34]. For the 1991 Serengeti outbreak, virus isolation and molecular diagnostics pointed to domestic dogs as the most probable source of rabies virus infection for the wild dogs [32]; diagnostic evidence collected during the 1989 Masai Mara outbreak suggested that the virus originated from domestic dogs living on the periphery of the reserve [30,31].…”

The Demography and Dynamics of an Expanding, Managed African Wild Dog Metapopulation

“…Catastrophic events such as those caused by disease or human persecution can have significant impacts on tiny wild dog populations (Ginsberg et al, 1995;Ginsberg & Woodroffe, 1997;Hofmeyr et al, 2000;Hofmeyr, Hofmeyr, Nel & Bingham, 2004). Although catastrophic disease outbreaks (canine distemper) led to the extinction of one subpopulation during the period covered by this study (Tswalu 2005), this represented just 3.6% and 4.9% of adults and pups in the metapopulation, respectively.…”

“…Environmental variations influence the dynamics of both large and small populations, but small populations may be particularly susceptible and less resilient (Reed & Hobbs, 2004). This is especially true for events such as disease epidemics that may have serious consequences, as has been shown for Ethiopian wolves Canis simensis (Laurenson, Shiferaw & Sillero-Zubiri, 1997;Marino, SilleroZubiri & Macdonald, 2006) and wild dogs (Ginsberg, Mace & Albon, 1995;Hofmeyr, Bingham, Lane, Ide & Nel, 2000).…”

“…Wild dogs were first reintroduced into the 600 km 2 Madikwe Game Reserve (Madikwe) in Northwest Province in 1995. Although the population grew to 24 animals by 1997, only three animals survived a rabies outbreak in early 1998 (Hofmeyr et al, 2000). Between January 1998 and January 2007, seven additional subpopulations were established, encompassing a total area of c. 3930 km 2 (Table 1).…”