Kathleen A Alexander

• PhD DVM
• Professor at Virginia Tech

The prevalence of Rift Valley fever virus IgG and IgM virus was evaluated in 1,276 human serum samples collected from local hospitals in 2013–2014 in northern Botswana. Our findings provide evidence of active circulation of this virus in humans in the absence of clinical disease in this region. These findings underscore the urgent need for more int...

Background Variation in animal space use reflects fitness trade-offs associated with ecological constraints. Associated theories such as the metabolic theory of ecology and the resource dispersion hypothesis generate predictions about what drives variation in animal space use. But, metabolic theory is usually tested in macro-ecological studies and...

In regions rich in natural resources, nature-based tourism is advancing rapidly. This form of development is identified as an important economic opportunity for local communities but can impact ecosystem services through rapid landscape transformation, threatening the livelihoods of the most impoverished sectors of a community. While it is accepted...

Investigations into natural resource use and access are often limited to rural areas; such use is not considered an integral part of urban livelihood strategies, especially amongst the poor. With growing urban food insecurity, poverty, and unequal access to services, natural resource use may provide a viable alternative to cash-based resources, thu...

Wild banded mongooses ( Mungos mungo) in northeastern Botswana and northwest Zimbabwe are infected with a novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) pathogen, Mycobacterium mungi. We evaluated gross and histologic lesions in 62 infected mongooses (1999-2017). Many tissues contained multifocal irregular, lymphohistiocytic to granulomatous infilt...

Complex couplings and feedback among climate, fire, and herbivory drive short- and long-term patterns of land cover change (LCC) in savanna ecosystems. However, understanding of spatial and temporal LCC patterns in these environments is limited, particularly for semi-arid regions transitional between arid and more mesic climates. Here, we use post-...

Dryland forests provide essential resources critical to the survival of human and animal populations. They are particularly important in developing countries where community livelihoods are often directly dependent upon the use of natural resources in these habitats. In Botswana, as elsewhere in Africa, dryland forests are under increasing pressure...

The savannas of southern Africa are a highly variable and globally important biome that supports rapidly expanding human populations. They also have one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife on the continent. Savannas occupy a fifth of the earth's land surface, yet despite their ecological and economic significance, little is understood about...

To the Editor — The illegal wildlife trade is one of the most profitable organized crime networks globally. Millions of live animals, billions of kilograms of bushmeat, and large quantities of ivory and furs are traded annually worldwide 1 .

Mycobacterium mungi , a Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex pathogen, has emerged in banded mongoose in northern Botswana and Northwest Zimbabwe. The pathogen is transmitted through infected secretions used in olfactory communication behavior (K. A. Alexander, C. E. Sanderson, M. H. Larsen, S. Robbe-Austerman, M. C. Williams, and M. V. Palmer, mBio...

Unlabelled: An emerging Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) pathogen, M. mungi, infects wild banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) in Northern Botswana, causing significant mortality. This MTC pathogen did not appear to be transmitted through a primary aerosol or oral route. We utilized histopathology, spoligotyping, mycobacterial interspersed repe...

Urbanization and other human modifications of the landscape may indirectly affect disease dynamics by altering host behavior in ways that influence pathogen transmission. Few opportunities arise to investigate behaviorally mediated effects of human habitat modification in natural host–pathogen systems, but we provide a potential example of this phe...

Results of quantitative PCR assessment of Mycobacterium mungi DNA in mongoose tissues and secretions. Download

Mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number of tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) results for Mycobacterium mungi-positive samples. Download

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is endemic in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and is responsible for severe outbreaks in livestock characterized by a sudden onset of abortions and high neonatal mortality. During the last decade, several outbreaks have occurred in Southern Africa, with a very limited number of cases reported in Botswana. To date, publi...

Disposal of greywater is a neglected challenge facing rapidly growing human populations. Here, we define greywater as wastewater that originates from household activities (e.g., washing dishes, bathing, and laundry) but excludes inputs from the toilet. Pollutants in greywater can include both chemical and biological contaminates that can significan...

Sustainable management of dryland river systems is often complicated by extreme variability of precipitation in time and space, especially across large catchment areas. Understanding regional water quality changes in southern African dryland rivers and wetland systems is especially important because of their high subsistence value and provision of...

Background/Question/Methods In water-stressed regions of southern Africa, freshwater resources are under increasing extractive pressures. Sustainable management of dryland river systems is often complicated by extreme variability of rainfall in time and space, especially across large catchment areas. The Chobe River is the only permanent surface w...

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance is arguably the most important threat to human and animal health. The impacts of antimicrobial use can reach far from the site of prescription and wildlife may serve as a conduit for the movement of resistance across landscapes, contributing to the spread of antimicrobial resistance within and between diffe...

An Ebola outbreak of unprecedented scope emerged in West Africa in December 2013 and presently continues unabated in the countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Ebola is not new to Africa, and outbreaks have been confirmed as far back as 1976. The current West African Ebola outbreak is the largest ever recorded and differs dramatically from...

Leptospirosis is an important public health threat in sub-Saharan Africa but little is known regarding the host spectrum and epidemiology of this zoonotic disease. 289 kidney samples from 69 wild, domestic and peri-domestic species in northern Botswana were screened for the presence of Leptospira sp. Renal carriage was widespread among mammals (31....

Tuberculosis (TB) pathogens of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MtbC) are of global importance in human, domestic animal and wildlife health, and are currently a major concern in conservation, threatening wildlife populations, particularly rare and endangered species. This book chapter discusses the recent emergence of a number of novel MtbC...

The 2014 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa is unprecedented in its size and geographic range, and demands swift, effective action from the international community. Understanding the dynamics and spread of Ebola is critical for directing interventions and extinguishing the epidemic; however, observational studies of local conditions have been incompl...

Individual host behavior may be influenced by infectious disease in ways that can alter population-level disease dynamics. A novel pathogen in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, Mycobacterium mungi, has emerged among banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) in Northeastern Botswana. This host–pathogen system provides an opportunity to study how individ...

Understanding human movement and mobility is important for characterizing, forecasting, and controlling the spatial and temporal spread of infectious diseases. Unfortunately, the current West African Ebola outbreak is taking place in a region where mobility has changed considerably in recent years.

A cholera outbreak began in Haiti during October, 2010. Spatiotemporal patterns of household-level cholera in Ouest Department showed that the initial clusters tended to follow major roadways; subsequent clusters occurred further inland. Our data highlight transmission pathway complexities and the need for case and household-level analysis to under...

Detailed description of the 4 communities in the Collaborative Cholera Mapping Project and geospatial analysis of outbreak clusters.

While disease and injury have obvious impacts on mortality, they can have less understood non-lethal impacts on behavior. These behavioral effects might have a significant consequences for population-level disease dynamics if diseased individuals are more or less likely to disperse. We opportunistically observed dispersal events in banded mongooses...

Abstract Bacillus anthracis, the cause of anthrax, was recovered from two plains bison (Bison bison bison) cows killed by wolves (Canis lupus) in Montana, USA, without associated wolf mortality in July 2010. This bison herd experienced an epizootic in summer 2008, killing ∼8% of the herd, the first documented in the region in several decades. No wo...

An Ebola outbreak of unprecedented scope emerged in West Africa in December 2013 and presently continues unabated in the countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Ebola is not new to Africa and outbreaks have been confirmed as far back as 1976. The current West African Ebola outbreak is the largest ever recorded and differs dramatically from...

Anthropogenic modification of the landscape, resultant habitat loss, and decades of persecution have resulted in severe decline and fragmentation of large carnivore populations worldwide. Infectious disease is also identified as a primary threat to many carnivores. In wildlife species, population demography and group persistence are strongly influe...

Abstract Although antemortem approaches in wildlife disease surveillance are common for most zoonoses, they have been used infrequently in anthrax surveillance. Classically, anthrax is considered a disease with extremely high mortality. This is because anthrax outbreaks are often detected ex post facto through wildlife or livestock fatalities or sp...

Diarrheal illness remains a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, with the majority of deaths occurring in children <5 years of age. Lack of resources often prohibits the evaluation of outbreak characteristics and limits progress in managing this important disease syndrome, particularly in Africa. Relying only on existing medical staff a...

Leptospirosis is the most widespread zoonosis in the world. In northern Botswana, humans live in close proximity to a diversity of wildlife and peridomestic rodents and may be exposed to a variety of zoonotic pathogens. Little is known regarding the occurrence and epidemiology of L. interrogans in Africa despite the recognized global importance of...

A primary challenge to managing emerging infectious disease is identifying pathways that allow pathogen transmission at the human–wildlife interface. Using Escherichia coli as a model organism, we evaluated fecal bacterial transmission between banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) and humans in northern Botswana. Fecal samples were collected from banded m...

Diarrheal disease is an important health challenge, accounting for the majority of childhood deaths globally. Climate change is expected to increase the global burden of diarrheal disease but little is known regarding climate drivers, particularly in Africa. Using health data from Botswana spanning a 30-year period (1974-2003), we evaluated monthly...

Abstract Wildlife species are identified as an important source of emerging zoonotic disease. Accordingly, public health programs have attempted to expand in scope to include a greater focus on wildlife and its role in zoonotic disease outbreaks. Zoonotic disease transmission dynamics involving wildlife are complex and nonlinear, presenting a numbe...

Free-ranging banded mongooses are infected by the novel pathogen, Mycobacterium mungi in northern Botswana. A reliable method for determining stress-related physiological responses in banded mongooses will increase our understanding of the stress response in M. mungi infection. Therefore, our aim was to examine the suitability of four enzyme immuno...

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of global importance infecting humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Little is known about the epidemiology and persistence of brucellosis in wildlife in Southern Africa, particularly in Botswana.Archived wildlife samples from Botswana (1995-2000) were screened with the Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and fluorescence pol...

Diarrheal disease is a chronic public health problem in Chobe District, Botswana. Acute diarrheal outbreaks occur annually with a bimodal seasonal pattern coinciding with major hydrological phenomena. Information is lacking regarding the etiology of reoccurring outbreaks. Cryptosporidium and Giardia are recognized as important waterborne causes of...

Although human behavior is frequently cited as a factor influencing the emergence of disease at the human-animal interface, few empirical studies have demonstrated this relationship. We compare humans and their domestic animals living in close proximity to populations of the endangered African wild dog (AWD, Lycaon pictus) in both Kenya and Botswan...

Seven outbreaks involving increasing numbers of banded mongoose troops and high death rates have been documented. We identified a Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex pathogen, M. mungi sp. nov., as the causative agent among banded mongooses that live near humans in Chobe District, Botswana. Host spectrum and transmission dynamics remain unknown.

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) causes AIDS in the domestic cat (Felis catus) but has not been explicitly associated with AIDS pathology in any of the eight free-ranging species of Felidae that are endemic with circulating FIV strains. African lion (Panthera leo) populations are infected with lion-specific FIV strains (FIVple), yet there remain...

The lion Panthera leo is one of the world's most charismatic carnivores and is one of Africa's key predators. Here, we used a large dataset from 357 lions comprehending 1.13 megabases of sequence data and genotypes from 22 microsatellite loci to characterize its recent evolutionary history. Patterns of molecular genetic variation in multiple matern...

A retrospective serosurvey of multi-host feline and canine viruses among carnivore species in southern Africa (n=1018) identified widespread pathogen exposure even in remote protected areas. In contrast to mortality experienced in East African predators, canine distemper virus (CDV) infection among African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in Botswana was...

Genetic variation of 12S–16S (mtDNA) and ADA and TF (nDNA) genes in lions. (A) Haplotypes and variable sites for the 12S–16S mtDNA region surveyed in lions (total length 1,882 bp). Position 1 corresponds to position 1441 of the domestic cat (Felis catus) mtDNA genome (GenBank U20753). The “-” represents a gap and “.” matches the nucleotide in the f...

Linearized genetic differentiation of host and viral genetic markers with geographic distance. Regression of linearized FST estimates [24] for lion (nDNA and mtDNA) and FIVPle (pol-RT) genetic data plotted both against the geographic distance (model assuming habitat to be arrayed in an infinite one-dimensional lattice; one-dimension isolation-by-di...

Phylogenetic relationships of the 12S–16S mtDNA lion haplotypes. Neighbour-joining tree of the 1,882 bp 12S–16S mtDNA sequences. Bootstrap values are placed at each branchpoint for the minimum evolution/maximum parsimony/maximum likelihood analyses, respectively (ME/MP/ML). Outgroups: Ppa – leopard, Panthera pardus; Pun – snow-leopard, Panthera unc...

Phylogenetic relationships of the FIVPle pol-RT sequences. Neighbour-joining tree of the 301 bp FIVPle pol-RT sequences. The distinct FIVPle subtypes were labelled A to F. Bootstrap (BPS) values are placed at each branchpoint (ME/MP/ML) and in parenthesis are the BPS values obtained for a tree established with 520 bp of FIVPle pol-RT sequence for a...

Primers used to amplify the mtDNA (12S–16S) and nDNA (ADA and TF) portions surveyed in this study. (0.06 MB PDF)

Taxon specific unique nDNA alleles in lion populations (FCA-microsatellites and ADA locus). (0.06 MB PDF)

Summary statistics for FIVPle data. (0.00 MB PDF)

List of the lion samples used in this study. (0.11 MB PDF)

Nested design and summary results of the nested clade phylogeographic analysis (NCPA) for lion mtDNA data. (A) Nested design of the mtDNA haplotype network used for the NCPA. (B) Summary results of the NCPA. RGF/IBD - Restricted gene flow/isolation by distance. LDC/FR – long distance colonization/fragmentation. (0.10 MB PDF)

Structure cluster assignment results of 357 lions based on nDNA (ADA, TF, and 22 microsatellites) and mtDNA markers. Burn-in and replication values set at 30,000 and 1,000,000, respectively. (0.06 MB PDF)

Gene diversity and frequency values in lion populations. (0.07 MB PDF)

Bottleneck analysis in lion populations using the standardized differences test and the stepwise mutation model (SMM). (0.05 MB PDF)

Results of the hierarchical AMOVA in lions for four different geographical scenarios. (0.06 MB PDF)

Lion population pairwise FST estimates. Below the diagonal mtDNA data (12S–16S) and above the diagonal microsatellite data (22 loci). (0.06 MB PDF)

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infects numerous wild and domestic feline species and is closely related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Species-specific strains of FIV have been described for domestic cat (Felis catus), puma (Puma concolor), lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), and Pall...