Abstract:
All effects taken together, bovine tuberculosis (bTB) has a long-term detrimental effect on
bovine herds and many wildlife species in South Africa. The disease is not only found in
domestic cattle but also in African buffaloes and has to date been diagnosed in 21 wildlife
species, including several rare and endangered species, thus having a potentially serious effect
on conservation and biodiversity. In cattle, bTB is mostly characterised by sporadic outbreaks,
but bovine herds chronically infected with the clinical disease are not uncommon. Presently,
the recognised bTB control strategy in South Africa is based on ‘test and slaughter’, using the
intradermal tuberculin test, followed by the slaughter of animals that have tested positive.
Affected herds are placed under veterinary quarantine with movement restrictions until the
outbreak is eradicated; this can take several years or last indefinitely if the outbreak cannot be
eradicated. The same measures apply to infected buffalo populations, often with no prospect
of ever being eradicated. This strategy is neither practical nor viable in the context of a
communal farming system and becomes unethical when dealing with valuable wildlife
reservoir hosts. Transmission of bTB between wildlife and cattle has been demonstrated and
emphasises the need for an effective, affordable and culturally acceptable control strategy to
curb the spread of bTB in South Africa. In countries with similar challenges, vaccination has
been used and found to be promising for treating wild and domestic reservoir species and may
hence be of value as a complementary tool for bTB control in South Africa.
