South Africa Field Experience
Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 01:00PM y: Michael Lovasz
Class of 2012, Ross University
Did you know that Echinococcus is commonly found in the fur of the leopard? I do now. This is just one of the many interesting facts that I learned while doing a two week externship in South Africa last April. A group of four of us were about to start our third year of Veterinary School and we were very eager to apply what we already knew, or believed we knew, to the field.
In our first week we had the rare opportunity to assist in Cape buffalo herd management in the Red Zone. These animals were either infected or acting as a buffer zone to animals infected with Foot and Mouth Disease, Tuberculosis, Brucellosis, and Corridor Disease (Theileria parva). Tuberculosis is a huge concern in South Africa because it affects populations throughout the ecosystem. It effects the immunocompromised humans, which is an immediate concern, and tuberculosis has also decimated the lion population. The value of a disease-free buffalo is about ten times greater than an infected one. While the story of tuberculosis in buffalo, lions and man is interesting, this article is going to focus on my time with leopards, and their story is an unfortunate and sad one.
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