Isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from captive Ateles paniscus.
An adult female red-faced black spider monkey (Ateles paniscus), housed for 2 years in the Parque Estoril Zoo in São Paulo, Brazil, showed apathy. Clinical examination revealed discrete emaciation, swelling and induration of lymph nodes, and presence of a mass in the abdominal cavity. Therapies with enrofloxacin, azithromycin, and ceftiofur were ineffective. The animal died after 6 months. Necropsy and histopathology confirmed granulommas in lymph nodes, parietal and visceral pleura, lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys. Acid-fast bacilli were isolated and identified as Mycobacterium tuberculosis by polymerase chain reaction restriction analysis and Spoligotyping techniques. The zoo personnel and other animals that had had contact with the infected primate were negative to tuberculosis diagnostic procedures, such as sputum exam (baciloscopy) and thorax radiography. It was impossible to determine whether the infection occurred before or after the arrival of the animal to the Parque Estoril Zoo. This is the first report of M. tuberculosis infection in Ateles paniscus, a neotropical primate.
Rocha
Vivianne Cambuí Mesquita
VC
Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Ikuta
Cássia Yumi
CY
Gomes
Marcelo S
MS
Quaglia
Fausto
F
Matushima
Eliana R
ER
Ferreira Neto
José Soares
JS
D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo; D053819:Atelinae; D001344:Autopsy / Q000662:veterinary; D001938:Brazil; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D008992:Monkey Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*