Malignant Catarrhal Fever in Wild Ruminants

Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is a generalized disease of cattle and many species of wild ruminants characterized by high fever, profuse nasal discharge, corneal opacity, ophthalmia, generalized lymphadenopathy, leukopenia, severe inflammation of the conjunctival, oral, and nasal mucosae with necrosis in the oral and nasal cavities, sometimes extending into esophagus and trachea [16, 19, 21, 37, 38, 53]. MCF in East Africa has been estimated to be responsible for a 7% annual death loss of domestic cattle [28, 29]. In zoos, game ranches, and wildlife parks, MCF has caused the death of many valuable and endangered captive wild ruminants [17].