Pachydermoperiostosis-Like Disease In Captive Red Ruffled Lemurs (Varecia Variegatus Rubra)

Pachydermatoperiostosis, a rare form of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, is of unknown etiology and previously thought limited to humans. The only periosteal reaction previously reported in prosimians is related to renal disease. Notation of hypertrophic osteoarthritis in three prosimians led to recognition that this was the first non-human documentation of the disease. Three related red ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegatus rubra) had diaphyseal periosteal reaction classic for hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. Workup was negative for known underlying causes and for the secondary hyperparathyroidism which produces bone alterations in black Eulemur macao, black and white Varecia variegatatus varigatus and ringtail Lemur catta lemurs. Recognition of facial coarsening allows identification of the primary form of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, categorized in humans as primary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. This is the first recognition of the phenomenon in the order primates, exclusive of humans, and represents a new model for this rare disease

Antibody prevalence to African swine fever virus, Mycobacterium bovis, foot-and-​mouth disease virus, Rift Valley fever virus, influenza A virus, and Brucella and Leptospira spp. in free-ranging warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) populations in South Africa

The warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) can be used as a model for investigating disease transmission at the human, wildlife, and livestock interface. An omnivore and scavenger, a warthog moves freely between natural ecotypes, farmland, and human communities and is susceptible to diseases of zoonotic, agricultural, and conservation concern. A retrospective study using 100 individual serum samples collected from May 1999 to August 2016 was performed to determine antibody prevalence to seven pathogens in warthogs from five locations in northeastern South Africa. Higher prevalence of antibodies to African swine fever virus and Mycobacterium bovis were detected in warthogs from the Greater Kruger National Park ecosystem in comparison to lower prevalence of antibodies to M. bovis and no antibodies to African swine fever virus in warthogs from uMhkuze Game Reserve. Low prevalence of antibodies to foot-and-mouth disease virus, Rift Valley fever virus, and influenza A virus was detected in all locations, and no antibodies against Brucella and Leptospira spp. were detected. No statistically significant difference in antibody prevalence was found between sexes for any disease. At the univariate analysis, M. bovis seropositivity was significantly different among age categories, with 49% (35/71) of adults found positive versus 29% (4/14) of juveniles and 9% (1/11) of sub-adults (Fisher’s exact test, P¼0.020), and between the sampling locations (Fisher’s exact test, P¼0.001). The multivariate model results indicated that juvenile warthogs had lower odds of testing positive to M. bovis antibodies than adults (juveniles’ odds ratio [OR]¼0.17, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.02–1.0), although this result was not statistically significant at the 5% level (P¼0.052). For warthogs sampled at Satara Buffalo Camp, the odds (OR¼0.22, 95% CI: 0.035–0.96) of being M. bovis antibody positive were significantly lower (P¼0.043) than for warthogs sampled at Skukuza. Of particular interest in this study was the detection of warthogs seropositive for influenza A virus.KNP Veterinary Wildlife Services, South African Medical Research Council, National Research Foundation of South Africa and Smithsonian Institution National Zoological Park.http://www.jwildlifedis.orgam2021PharmacologyProduction Animal Studie

Evaluation of a Virus Neutralisation Test for Detection of Rift Valley Fever Antibodies in Suid Sera

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a vector-borne viral disease of ruminants mainly, and man, characterized by abortions and neonatal deaths in animals and flu-like to more severe symptoms that can result in death in humans. The disease is endemic in Africa, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and outbreaks occur following proliferation of RVF virus (RVFV) infected mosquito vectors. Vertebrate animal maintenance hosts of RVFV, which serve as a source of virus during inter-epidemic periods remain unknown, with wild and domestic suids being largely overlooked. To address this, we evaluated the virus neutralization test (VNT) for RVF antibody detection in suid sera, as a first step in assessing the role of suids in the epidemiology of RVF in Africa. Testing of experimental and field sera from domestic pigs and warthogs with a commercial RVF competitive antibody ELISA, served as a reference standard against which the VNT results were compared. Results indicate that VNT can detect anti-RVFV antibodies within three days post-infection, has an analytical specificity of 100% and diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 97%, respectively. Although labour-intensive and time-consuming, the VNT proved suitable for screening suid sera and plasma for presence of RVFV antibodies in viraemic and recovered animals