Detection of Babesia spp. in Free-Ranging Pukus, Kobus vardonii, on a Game Ranch in Zambia

Babesia spp. were detected from 4 asymptomatic pukus captured on a game ranch in central Zambia in October 2008. Blood smears were examined in 4 species of aymptomatic free-ranging antelopes, namely the puku (Kobus vordanii), reedbuck (Redunca arundinum), bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvaticus), and kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), and showed the presence of Babesia parasites only in the puku. In the puku, the prevalence of babesiosis was estimated at 33.3% (n=12), while the overall prevalence in all examined animals was 8.5% (n=47). The parasites showed morphological characteristics of paired ring-like stages with the length varying between 1.61 µm and 3.02 µm (mean=2.12 µm, n=27; SD=0.76 µm). Both the infected and non-infected pukus showed good body condition scores (BCS), while the dominant tick species detected from all animals were Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus spp., and Boophilus spp. To our knowledge this is the first report of Babesia spp. infection in pukus in Zambia. These findings suggest that wildlife could play an important role in the epidemiology of babesiosis in Zambia

Pan-African Agricultural and Veterinary Conference, Pretoria, 1st to 17th August, 1929 : papers veterinary section

Includes bibliographical referencesArticle was scanned with HP Scanjet 5590, 24-bit true colour, 300 dpi, saved in TIFF-format. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

Preliminary report on investigations carried out in connection with a calf disease in the Marico district, with special reference to paratyphoid "B. entiritidis" infection

The journals have been scanned with a SupraScan 10000RGB scanner; 24-bit true colour, 400 dpi, saved in TIFF-format. Copies of the master images have been converted to black & white, 1-bitmap images and OCRed with ABBYY Fine Reader v.9 software. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Reference list at the end of the report.The Equine Research Centre, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria gave financial support to this digitisation project