Anthrax and wildlife

Although livestock anthrax is declining in many parts of the world, with an increasing number of countries probably truly free of the disease, anthrax remains enzootic in many national parks and even in some game ranching areas. These infected areas can present a persistent risk to surrounding livestock, which may otherwise be free of the disease, as well as a public health risk. The authors use as examples the national parks in southern Africa, the Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta, Canada, and the deer ranching counties in south-west Texas, United States of America, to present the range of problems, epidemiology, and control procedures. While many advances have been achieved in the understanding of this disease, research is required into the genotypic grouping of anthrax isolates, improved field diagnostic techniques, and oral vaccines, as well as to provide a better understanding of spore survival in soil and the ecology of the disease under natural conditions.