Rabies in Kudu – a Namibian Perspective
Rabies in the Greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) in Namibia is unique, found in such magnitude as has not been reported elsewhere in southern Africa, and the result of a survey showed that even larger numbers of kudu were affected than officially confirmed. It was initially suspected that horizontal transmission of rabies occurs among kudu and that rabies was being maintained independently within the Namibian kudu population – separate from canid cycles, despite geographic overlap. While a high susceptibly of kudus for rabies and sporadic horizontal rabies virus transmission to contact animals was experimentally demonstrated, this however cannot plausibly explain the rapid spread of the disease in kudus over large territories. Phylogenetic analyses revealed distinct rabies virus variants in wildlife including kudu and jackals as opposed to viruses isolated from dogs thus questioning earlier study results. Reasons as to why kudus appear to be exceptionally susceptible to rabies still remain speculative at best. Next generation sequencing of RABV from brain material and corresponding salivary gland showed identical consensus sequences.