10 research outputs found
Mycobacterium tuberculosis at the human/wildlife interface in a high TB burden country
This study reports on an investigation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cases in
mostly captive wild animals using molecular typing tools [Variable Number of
Tandem Repeat (VNTR) typing and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism
typing]. The investigation included cases from (i) the National Zoological
Gardens of South Africa (NZG) recorded between 2002 and 2011; (ii) Johannesburg
Zoo, where tuberculosis was first diagnosed in 2007 and has since been
detected in three antelope species; (iii) a rehabilitation centre for vervet monkeys
(Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in which M. tuberculosis was diagnosed in 2008; and
(iv) incidental cases in other facilities including a sable antelope (Hippotragus
niger), two unrelated cases in chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) (one of which was
from a free-ranging troop) and a colony of capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus).
Identical genetic profiles of the latter three isolates indicate the persistence of a
single M. tuberculosis strain in this population since at least 2006. Results of the
outbreak investigation in the captive vervet monkey colony indicate that it was
caused by two unrelated strains, while all 13 M. tuberculosis isolates from 11
animal species in the NZG showed different VNTR patterns. A substantial
increase in tuberculosis cases of 60% was recorded in the NZG, compared with
the previous reporting period 1991–2001, and may indicate a countrywide trend
of increasing spillover of human tuberculosis to wild animals. South Africa ranks
among the countries with the highest-tuberculosis burden worldwide, complicated
by an increasing rate of multidrug-resistant strains. Exposure and infection
of captive wildlife in this high prevalence setting is therefore a growing concern
for wildlife conservation but also for human health through potential spillback.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1865-1682hb201
Intravenous butorphanol improves cardiopulmonary parameters in game-ranched white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) immobilized with etorphine and azaperone
Abstract We immobilized 47 white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) for dehorning with 1-4 mg of etorphine HCl, 10-40 mg of azaperone, and 7,500 IU of hyaluronidase, at a game ranch in South Africa in November 2012. Forty-four received butorphanol intravenously 5 min after recumbency, at the rate of 10 mg of butorphanol per 1 mg of etorphine, and three animals did not. When possible, blood gas and physiologic parameters were measured immediately before butorphanol administration and 10 min later. Statistically significant improvements were observed, with a reduction in pH, partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure, and with an increase in arterial partial pressure of oxygen, arterial hemoglobin oxygen saturation, and respiratory rate in animals administered butorphanol. In the three animals that did not receive butorphanol, no improvement was apparent. Butorphanol given to recumbent white rhinoceroses immediately after immobilization was associated with improved blood gas values and cardiopulmonary function for at least 10 min. Studies on the sustainability of these effects are necessary.Wayne S. J. Boardman, Charles G. B. Caraguel, Jacobus P. Raath, and Martine Van Zijll Langhou