The Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases

The Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases (DVTD) of the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Pretoria focuses on animal diseases that are important both economically and socially in the African context. Due to the strong interdependence of animals and humans, most of these diseases are those that are considered to be anthropozoonoses such as anthrax, bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis, cysticercosis, rabies and trypanosomosis.

Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria of animal origin and the human and environmental interface is also being investigated in South Africa. An antimicrobial surveillance programme with several veterinary laboratories as partners has been initiated with preliminary studies showing a high prevalence of multiresistance in intensively reared food animals. These studies are done in collaboration with the Department of Public Health, University of Pretoria.