Detection of antibodies to tuberculosis antigens in free-ranging lions (Panthera leo) infected with Mycobacterium bovis in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Bovine tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, has become established in Kruger National Park, South Africa, in the cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) population and in other species. TB in prey species has resulted in infection and morbidity in the resident lion (Panthera leo) prides. The only validated live animal test currently available for lions is the intradermal tuberculin test. Because this test requires capture twice, 72 hr apart, of free-ranging lions to read results, it is logistically difficult to administer in a large ecosystem. Therefore, development of a rapid animal-side screening assay would be ideal in providing information for wildlife managers, veterinarians, and researchers working with free-living lion prides. This study reports preliminary descriptive results from an ongoing project evaluating two serologic tests for M. bovis (ElephantTB Stat-Pak and dual path platform VetTB). Disease status was determined by postmortem culture and presence of pathologic lesions in 14 free-ranging lions. Seropositivity was found to be associated with M. bovis infection. Extended field studies are underway to validate these rapid animal-side immunoassays for antemortem screening tests for TB in lions.
Palm Beach Zoo, 1301 Summit Boulevard, West Palm Beach, Florida 33405, USA. mmiller@palmbeachzoo.org
Michele
M
Miller
Jennifer
J
Joubert
Nomkhosi
N
Mathebula
Lin-Marie
LM
De Klerk-Lorist
Konstantin P
KP
Lyashchenko
Roy
R
Bengis
Paul
P
van Helden
Markus
M
Hofmeyr
Francisco
F
Olea-Popelka
Rena
R
Greenwald
Javan
J
Esfandiari
Peter
P
Buss
D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D008045:Lions; D008297:Male; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis; D012698:Serologic Tests; D012882:Skin Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial