Abstract
Four Asian elephants were confirmed to be infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis by bacterial culture, other diagnostic procedures, and sequencing of 16S–23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer region, 16S rRNA, and gyrase B gene sequences. Genotyping showed that the infectious agents originated from 4 sources in Thailand. To identify infections, a combination of diagnostic assays is essential.
Highlights
Four Asian elephants were confirmed to be infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis by bacterial culture, other diagnostic procedures, and sequencing of 16S–23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer region, 16S rRNA, and gyrase B gene sequences
Bacteria cultured from trunk wash and tissue samples were further identified by PCR reactions by using 16S rRNA, 16S–23S-rDNA internal transcribed spacers (ITS) [7,8], and gyrase B primers (Table 1)
We report M. tuberculosis infection in elephants in Thailand
Summary
Four Asian elephants were confirmed to be infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis by bacterial culture, other diagnostic procedures, and sequencing of 16S–23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer region, 16S rRNA, and gyrase B gene sequences. Necropsy of elephants 1, 3, and 4 was performed at 21 months, 7 days, and 33 months after admission, respectively, and lesion tissues were collected for bacterial culture, Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining, and histopathologic examination (Technical Appendix Table 2, http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/12/1949Techapp.pdf).. A serum sample from elephant 1 was negative for M. tuberculosis at admission, but a sample obtained 10 months later was positive. A serum specimen from elephant 2 was negative for mycobacteria at admission, but a second sample was positive 23 months later.
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