Johan Marais

A Study of Sarcoid Tumours in Cape Mountain Zebra (Equus Zebra Zebra): a Study Looking at the Prevalence, Body Distribution and Histopathology of ... Cape Mountain Zebra in South Africa Johan Marais

The equine sarcoid, a locally aggressive, fibroblastic skin tumour, is the most common skin neoplasm reported in horses. The Cape mountain zebra (CMZ) has been described as one of the most vulnerable mammals in South Africa. The possibility exists that the existing populations arose from a very small gene pool and that they are considerably inbred. A reduction in major histocompatibility complex diversity due to genetic bottlenecks and subsequent inbreeding probably contributed to uniform population sensitivity and the subsequent development of sarcoid in two CMZ populations, namely in the Bontebok National Park and Gariep Nature Reserve. The entire population of CMZ in the Bontebok National Park was observed and sampled during 2002 to document the prevalence and body distribution of sarcoids. During the same year, a comparative study was carried out on an outbred population of Burchell¿s zebra in the Kruger National Park. The prevalence in CMZ in the Bontebok National Park was 53 %, while the Burchell¿s zebra in Kruger National Park had a prevalence of 1,9 %. The most common sites for sarcoid in CMZ were the ventral abdomen and limbs.