Pulmonary infection due to Mycobacterium bovis in a black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor) in South Africa.
We report a case of tuberculosis due to infection with Mycobacterium bovis in an elderly male black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor) from the Limpopo Province in South Africa. The animal was euthanized due to very poor condition, old age, and dental attrition. Necropsy examination revealed two small nonencapsulated granulomas (approximately 40-mm diameter) in the dorsocaudal lobe of the left lung. Sequencing of isolated crude lung tissue PCR product and boiled lung culture samples confirmed that the causative organism was M. bovis. Genotyping revealed limited similarities with M. bovis strains isolated thus far from South African cattle or wildlife. The source of the infection could not be determined. This case illustrates that M. bovis could impact conservation of free-ranging rare and endangered species. Effective diagnostics are urgently needed for different animal species, such as white or black rhinoceroses, to certify with a reasonable degree of certainty that these animals are free of tuberculosis in natural habitats.
Espie
Ian W
IW
National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, PO Box 754, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
Hlokwe
Tiny M
TM
Gey van Pittius
Nicolaas C
NC
Lane
Emily
E
Tordiffe
Adrian S W
AS
Michel
Anita L
AL
Müller
Annélle
A
Kotze
Antoinette
A
van Helden
Paul D
PD
D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000382:microbiology; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary; D037901:Euthanasia, Animal; D008297:Male; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010527:Perissodactyla / Q000382:microbiology*; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*