Abstract:
The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is an iconic species of South African megafauna. As the
farmed buffalo population expands, the potential impacts on population health and disease
transmission warrant investigation. A retrospective study of skin biopsy and necropsy samples
from 429 animals was performed to assess the spectrum of conditions seen in buffaloes in South
Africa. Determination of the cause of death (or euthanasia) could not be made in 33.1% (136/411)
of the necropsy cases submitted due to autolysis or the absence of significant lesions in the
samples submitted. Infectious and parasitic diseases accounted for 53.5% (147/275) of adult
fatal cases and non-infectious conditions accounted for 34.9% (96/275). Abortions and neonatal
deaths made up 11.6% (32/275) of necropsy cases. Rift Valley fever, bovine viral diarrhoea,
malignant catarrhal fever, tuberculosis, bacterial pneumonia, anaesthetic deaths, cachexia and
hepatotoxic lesions were the most common causes of death. The range of infectious, parasitic
and non-infectious diseases to which African buffaloes were susceptible was largely similar to
diseases in domestic cattle which supports concerns regarding disease transmission between
the two species. The similarity between diseases experienced in both species will assist wildlife
veterinarians in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in captive African buffaloes. The
present study likely does not represent accurate disease prevalence data within the source
population of buffaloes, and diseases such as anthrax, brucellosis and foot and mouth disease
are under-represented in this study. Hepatic ductal plate abnormalities and haemorrhagic
septicaemia have not, to our knowledge, been previously reported in African buffaloes.
