Munetsi Tagwireyi, BVSc, MSc, MBA, PhD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Munetsi Tagwireyi is a veterinarian and academic specializing in food animal health, epidemiology, and One Health. He earned his veterinary degree from the University of Zimbabwe in 2011 and subsequently worked in wildlife veterinary practice in South Africa before joining the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform as a State Veterinarian. He also served as a part-time lecturer at the Tsolo Agriculture and Rural Development Institute.

Dr. Tagwireyi completed an MSc in One Health at the University of Pretoria in 2017 and later joined the institution as a lecturer. He earned an MBA from the University of South Wales in 2019 and completed his PhD in 2026, focusing on the epidemiology of Neospora caninum in livestock and wildlife in South Africa.

His research interests include veterinary parasitology, animal production and health, epidemiology, and One Health approaches to disease prevention and control.

Education

BVSc, University of Zimbabwe
MSc (Animal/Human/Ecosystem Health), University of Pretoria
MBA, University of South Wales
PhD, University of Pretoria

Research Interests

Parasites of livestock, wildlife and humans,
Animal/Human/Ecosystem Health,
Epidemiology,
Food animal health,
One health

Publication Highlights

Mukarati, N.L., Vassilev, G.D., Tagwireyi, W.M. and Tavengwa, M., 2013. Occurrence, prevalence and intensity of internal parasite infections of African lions (Panthera leo) in enclosures at a recreation park in Zimbabwe. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 44(3), pp.686-693.

Tagwireyi, W.M., Etter, E., Neves, L. and Tagwireyi, W.M., 2019. Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection in domestic animals in southeastern South Africa. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 86(1), pp.1-6.

Manyenyeka, M., Tagwireyi, W.M., Marufu, M.C., Spargo, R.M. and Etter, E., 2022. Spatio‐temporal clustering and risk factor analysis of bovine theileriosis (Theileria parva) in Zimbabwe from 1995 to 2018. Transboundary and emerging diseases, 69(3), pp.1186-1196.

Tagwireyi, W.M., Thompson, P.N., Garcia, G.A., Morar-Leather, D. and Neves, L., 2024. Seroprevalence and associated risk factors for Neospora caninum infection in dairy cattle in South Africa. Parasitology Research, 123(8), p.298.

Olawole, A.S., Malahlela, M.N., Fonkui, T.Y., Marufu, M.C., Cenci-Goga, B.T., Grispoldi, L., Etter, E.M., Tagwireyi, W.M. and Karama, M., 2024. Occurrence, serotypes and virulence characteristics of Shiga toxin-producing and Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates from dairy cattle in South Africa. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 40(10), p.299

Tagwireyi, W.M., Garcia, G.A., Morar-Leather, D., Neves, L. and Thompson, P.N., 2025. Seroprevalence of Neospora caninum in dairy goats from northern South Africa: A preliminary study. Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports, 58, p.101213.

Tagwireyi, W.M., Morar-Leather, D., Thompson, P., Neves, L. and Alvarez-Garcia, G., 2026. Knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and practices of selected commercial dairy cattle farmers regarding neosporosis in South Africa. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 93(1), p.2256.

van Rensburg, L.L.J., Tagwireyi, W.M., Magadu, R., Grobler, M., Avenant, L., Brown, G. and Hoepner, N., 2026. Uterine squamous cell carcinoma in a 10-year-old Vietnamese pot-bellied pig (Sus scrofa domesticus). BMC Veterinary Research, 22(1), p.286.