AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS AND AFRICAN CARNIVORES

African horse sickness (AHS) is a disease that affects equids, and is principally transmitted by Culicoides spp, that are biological vectors of AHS viruses (AHSV). The repeated spread of AHSV from sub-Saharan A frica to the Middle East, northern Africa and the Iberian peninsula in dicate that a better understanding of AHS epizootiology is needed. Afr ican horse sickness has long been known to infect and cause mortality among domestic dogs that ingest virus contaminated meat, but it is unc ertain what role carnivores play in transmission of the virus. We pres ent evidence of widespread natural AHS infection among a diversity of African carnivore species. We hypothesize that such infection resulted from ingestion of meat and organs from AHS-infected prey species. The effect of AHS on the carnivores is unknown, as is their role in the m aintenance cycle of the disease.