Prevention, detection, and response to anthrax outbreak in Northern Tanzania using one health approach: A case study of Selela ward in Monduli district

Background: Anthrax is an infectious fatal zoonotic disease caused by Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax outbreak was confirmed in samples of wild animals following rumors of the outbreak in wild animals, livestock, and humans in Selela ward, Monduli district of Northern Tanzania. Therefore, a multi-sectorial team was deployed for outbreak response in the affected areas. Objectives: The aim of the response was to manage the outbreak in a One Health approach and specifically: (i) To determine the magnitude of anthrax outbreak in humans, livestock, and wild animals in Selela ward, (ii) to assess the outbreak local response capacity, (iii) to establish mechanisms for safe disposal of animal carcasses in the affected areas, and (iv) to mount effective control and preventive strategies using One Health approach in the affected areas. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional field survey using: (i) Active searching of suspected human cases at health facilities and community level, (ii) physical counting and disposal of wild animal carcasses in the affected area, (iii) collection of specimens from suspected human cases and animal carcasses for laboratory analysis, and (iv) meetings with local animal and human health staff, political, and traditional leaders at local levels. We analyzed data by STATA software, and a map was created using Quantum GIS software. Results: A total of 21 humans were suspected, and most of them (62%) being from Selela ward. The outbreak caused deaths of 10 cattle, 26 goats, and three sheep, and 131 wild animal carcasses were discarded the majority of them being wildebeest (83%). Based on laboratory results, three blood smears tested positive for anthrax using Giemsa staining while two wildebeest samples tested positive and five human blood samples tested negative for anthrax using quantitative polymerase chain reaction techniques. Clinical forms of anthrax were also observed in humans and livestock which suggest that wild animals may contribute as reservoir of anthrax which can easily be transmitted to humans and livestock. Conclusion: The rapid outbreak response by multi-sectoral teams using a One Health approach managed to contain the outbreak. The teams were composed of animal and human health experts from national to village levels to control the outbreak. The study testifies the importance of multi-sectoral approach using One Health approach in outbreak preparedness and response

No evidence of handling‐induced mortality in Serengeti's African wild dog population

The disappearance of an endangered African wild dog population from Serengeti National Park (SNP) led to international debate centered around one question: were researchers to blame? The “Burrows' hypothesis” postulated that stress induced by research‐related immobilization and handling reactivated a latent rabies virus, eliminating the population. Insufficient data inhibited hypothesis testing, but since wild dogs persisted alongside SNP and have been studied since 2005, the hypothesis can be tested 25 years after its proposition. To be supported, wild dog immobilization interventions should have resulted in high mortality rates. However, 87.6% of 121 handled wild dogs (2006–2016) survived >12 months post‐handling. Some argued that viral reactivation would necessitate long‐term stress. Following immobilization, 67 animals were captured, transported, and held in a translocation enclosure. Despite the longer‐term stress, 95.5% survived >12 months. Furthermore, the stable number of wild dog packs in the ecosystem over the past decade, and lack of recolonization of SNP, strongly oppose Burrows' hypothesis. Instead, factors such as heightened levels of interspecific competition are likely to have contributed to the wild dog disappearance and subsequent avoidance of the Serengeti plains. Handling and radio telemetry are invaluable when studying elusive endangered species, yielding information pertinent to their conservation and management, and had no effect on Serengeti wild dog survival

Evaluating the use of local ecological knowledge (LEK) in determining habitat preference and occurrence of multiple large carnivores

Understanding habitat preferences and distribution of threatened species is a cornerstone of conservation, however many of the techniques available can be resource intensive. One cost-effective method is by collecting information on species presence and absence from people who regularly interact with the area of interest, also known as Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK). However, the reliability of this type of data has been questioned, especially when there is a possibility that the focal species is being misidentified or their presence misreported. This can introduce false negatives, when a species is present but has not been reported, and false positives, when the species has been reported but is not present. These biases are not always accounted for which can result in the under- or overestimation of species presence. To better understand the reliability of LEK data, we compared the outputs of five different analytical techniques to that of a more widely accepted approach, resource selection functions (RSF), using GPS-collar data from three different carnivore species (African lion Panthera leo, cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and African wild dog Lycaon pictus). Hierarchical models which accounted for the possibilities of both false negatives and false positives most closely matched that of the RSFs, especially for the two rarer species; African wild dog and cheetah. Our results show that when both false negatives and false positives are accounted for that LEK can be used as a rapid and cost-efficient tool for assessing threatened species which can be adopted into practical conservation projects. Carnivores Detection probability False positives GPS telemetry data Interview survey Occupancy models Species distributio

Evaluating the use of local ecological knowledge (LEK) in determining habitat preference and occurrence of multiple large carnivores

Understanding habitat preferences and distribution of threatened species is a cornerstone of conservation, however many of the techniques available can be resource intensive. One cost-effective method is by collecting information on species presence and absence from people who regularly interact with the area of interest, also known as Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK). However, the reliability of this type of data has been questioned, especially when there is a possibility that the focal species is being misidentified or their presence misreported. This can introduce false negatives, when a species is present but has not been reported, and false positives, when the species has been reported but is not present. These biases are not always accounted for which can result in the under- or overestimation of species presence. To better understand the reliability of LEK data, we compared the outputs of five different analytical techniques to that of a more widely accepted approach, resource selection functions (RSF), using GPS-collar data from three different carnivore species (African lion Panthera leo, cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and African wild dog Lycaon pictus). Hierarchical models which accounted for the possibilities of both false negatives and false positives most closely matched that of the RSFs, especially for the two rarer species; African wild dog and cheetah. Our results show that when both false negatives and false positives are accounted for that LEK can be used as a rapid and cost-efficient tool for assessing threatened species which can be adopted into practical conservation project

Insights into long-distance dispersal by African wild dogs in East Africa

No abstract available

No evidence of handling‐induced mortality in Serengeti's African wild dog population

The disappearance of an endangered African wild dog population from Serengeti National Park (SNP) led to international debate centered around one question: were researchers to blame? The “Burrows' hypothesis” postulated that stress induced by research‐related immobilization and handling reactivated a latent rabies virus, eliminating the population. Insufficient data inhibited hypothesis testing, but since wild dogs persisted alongside SNP and have been studied since 2005, the hypothesis can be tested 25 years after its proposition. To be supported, wild dog immobilization interventions should have resulted in high mortality rates. However, 87.6% of 121 handled wild dogs (2006–2016) survived >12 months post‐handling. Some argued that viral reactivation would necessitate long‐term stress. Following immobilization, 67 animals were captured, transported, and held in a translocation enclosure. Despite the longer‐term stress, 95.5% survived >12 months. Furthermore, the stable number of wild dog packs in the ecosystem over the past decade, and lack of recolonization of SNP, strongly oppose Burrows' hypothesis. Instead, factors such as heightened levels of interspecific competition are likely to have contributed to the wild dog disappearance and subsequent avoidance of the Serengeti plains. Handling and radio telemetry are invaluable when studying elusive endangered species, yielding information pertinent to their conservation and management, and had no effect on Serengeti wild dog survival.publishedVersion© 2018 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

A boxplot showing the terrain ruggedness index values within 100 m, 250 m and 500 m of wild dog dens (“den”) and random contrast locations (“random”) within each of the four study populations.

<p>Median values are indicated in the boxes while the error bars indicate the 10^th and 90^th percentiles. Outliers not shown due to scaling of the graphs.</p

Evaluating the use of local ecological knowledge (LEK) in determining habitat preference and occurrence of multiple large carnivores

Understanding habitat preferences and distribution of threatened species is a cornerstone of conservation, however many of the techniques available can be resource intensive. One cost-effective method is by collecting information on species presence and absence from people who regularly interact with the area of interest, also known as Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK). However, the reliability of this type of data has been questioned, especially when there is a possibility that the focal species is being misidentified or their presence misreported. This can introduce false negatives, when a species is present but has not been reported, and false positives, when the species has been reported but is not present. These biases are not always accounted for which can result in the under- or overestimation of species presence. To better understand the reliability of LEK data, we compared the outputs of five different analytical techniques to that of a more widely accepted approach, resource selection functions (RSF), using GPS-collar data from three different carnivore species (African lion Panthera leo, cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and African wild dog Lycaon pictus). Hierarchical models which accounted for the possibilities of both false negatives and false positives most closely matched that of the RSFs, especially for the two rarer species; African wild dog and cheetah. Our results show that when both false negatives and false positives are accounted for that LEK can be used as a rapid and cost-efficient tool for assessing threatened species which can be adopted into practical conservation projects