DETECTION OF COWDRIA-RUMINANTIUM IN BLOOD AND BONE-MARROW SAMPLES FROM CLINICALLY NORMAL, FREE-RANGING ZIMBABWEAN WILD UNGULATES

Cowdria ruminantium causes severe, often fatal disease in domestic rum inants, whereas wildlife species usually are not affected. Blood and b one marrow samples from healthy, free-ranging Zimbabwean ungulates wer e taken during translocation from areas harboring Amblyomma ticks and tested for the presence of C. ruminantium, using a PCR assay based on the C. ruminantium map1 gene. Positive reactions were obtained ih tses sebe (Damaliscus lunatus), waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), and impal a (Aepyceros melampus). Wildlife species may therefore be a reservoir for C. ruminantium thus contributing to the spread of cowdriosis.