Wildlife health |
| Name of research programme | Collaborating Organization | Expected benefits |
| Understanding the effects of climate change on mammals physiology | Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand (Prof Duncan Mitchell and Prof Andrea Fuller) and Aarhus University (Prof Tobias Wang) | Mitigation of negative effects of climate change |
| Establishing a rodent model of capture-stress and myopathy and establishing novel treatments for these conditions. | Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences and MRC Unit on Risk and Resilience, University of the North West (Prof Brian Harvey, Dr Dewet Wolmarans, Dr Francois Viljoen) | Novel treatments for capture myopathy in translocated wildlife species |
| Establishing assisted/artificial reproduction technologies in rhinoceros | San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (Dr Barbara Durrant) | Rhinoceros conservation |
| Improving veterinary management practices in free-living wild mammals | SANParks Veterinary Wildlife Services (Dr Peter Buss) | Safer practices during wildlife handling |
| Improving the safety of rhinoceros anaesthesia | Section of Anaesthesiology, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University (Prof Robin Gleed and Dr Jordyn Boesch) | Improved immobilization protocol for rhinoceros |
| Improving the safety of veterinary management practices in African and European mammals. | University of Veterinary Medicine (Vetmeduni Wien) Vienna (Drs Gabrielle Stalder, Johanna Painer and Friederike Pohlin) and Copenhagen Zoo (Dr Mads Bertelsen) | Safer practices during wildlife handling |
Wildlife diseases |
| Vaccination of African buffalo against bovine tuberculosis | University of Castilla-La Mancha (C Gortazar), Neiker (R Juste), Utrecht University (V Rutten) | Exploring vaccination as a control measure for bovine tuberculosis |
| Transmission and evolution of anthrax in two natural systems | University of Wisconsin, University of Maine, North-West University, Skukuza State Veterinary Services, Etosha National Park Ecological Institute | Improved knowledge on the epidemiology of anthrax in natural ecosystems |
| Epidemiological and ecological aspects of anthrax | University of Glasgow |
| Characterization of selected diseases in wildlife and their ticks | University of Padova, Italy | Disease surveillance |
| Exposure of Eidolon helvum to lineages of Lagos bat Virus, public health awareness to bat rabies, and molecular epidemiology of coronaviruses in Makurdi | Animal and Plant Health Agency (United Kingdom) & University of Agriculture Makurdi (Nigeria) | Knowledge on maintenance host potential of straw-coloured bat species of Lagos bat virus lineages and coronaviruses (active) |
| Molecular characterisation of rabies viruses and assessment of rabies neutralising antibodies in lions in Madikwe Game Reserve. | Madikwe Game Reserve (Rob Harrison-White) | Determine source of rabies virus infection and determine whether rabies vaccines can protect lion prides in the Game Reserve (active) |
| Exposure of fruit-eating bat species to lyssaviruses in Bauchi region (Nigeria) | National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI, Nigeria) | Establish maintenance host species to a variety of lyssaviruses |
| Assessing uptake of baited vaccines in black-backed jackals in the Cradle of Humankind | Medical Centres | Determine the usefulness of complementary vaccination strategies for wildlife |
Domestic animal diseases |
| Diversity of Anaplasma species in South Africa: impact on diagnostic tests | Washington State University (K Brayton) | Advancement in the diagnosis of anaplasmosis in cattle by improved differentiation between Anaplasma species |
| Molecular characterization of arboviruses in South African Livestock | USA Agricultural Research Service | Detection of arboviruses posing potential animal disease threats; modelling of effects of climate change and encroachment of livestock into wild areas |
| Domestic cattle - wildlife interface - Investigation on the presence of lumpy skin disease virus in wild ruminants in close proximity to LSD affected cattle farms | Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut: Institut für Internationale Tiergesundheit, Germany | Elucidating the potential role of wildlife as reservoir for LSD virus |
| Detection of infectious diseases in livestock slaughtered at abattoirs in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and zoonotic hazards posed to abattoir workers | University of Fort Hare | Zoonotic disease risk investigation for abattoir workers and zoonotic awareness education |
| Rabid dog sampling in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa. | Erasmus University (Netherlands) and the Agricultural Research Council (OVR) | Understand dynamics of inter-host viral evolution and understand key mechanisms of immune suppression in naturally infected dogs |
