Diagnosis of tuberculosis in wildlife often relies on postmortem samples because of logistical challenges and lack of field-friendly techniques for live animal testing. Confirmation of infection through detection of infectious organisms is essential for studying the pathogenesis and epidemiology of disease. We describe the application of a technique to obtain respiratory samples from free-ranging living lions to facilitate detection of viable Mycobacterium bovis under field conditions. We identified M. bovis by mycobacterial culture and PCR in tracheobronchial lavage samples from 8/134 (6.0%) lions tested in Kruger National Park, South Africa. This confirms the respiratory shedding of viable M. bovis in living lions. The implications of these results are that infected lions have the potential to transmit this disease and serve as maintenance hosts.
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1 April 2015
Antemortem Diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis Infection in Free-ranging African Lions (Panthera leo) and Implications for Transmission
Michele Miller,
Peter Buss,
Jennifer Hofmeyr,
Francisco Olea-Popelka,
Sven Parsons,
Paul van Helden
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Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 51 • No. 2
April 2015
Vol. 51 • No. 2
April 2015
lion
mycobacterial culture
Mycobacterium bovis
Panthera leo
TB
tracheobronchial lavage