Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Asian Elephants (<i>Elephas maximus</i>)

Landolfi, Jennifer A.; Terio, Karen A.; Miller, Michele A.; Junecko, Beth Fallert; Reinhart, Todd A.

doi:10.1177/0300985814548517

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Similar risk factors may apply to animals with asymptomatic infection, in which a minority could have latent infection which may lead to reactivation years later. The lesions observed in our rhinoceros were similar to those described for latent TB in Asian elephants [37]. Therefore, it is possible that PB1 or PB2 might have developed latent infection; however, long-term studies would be required to evaluate outcomes in this species.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Experimental Mycobacterium bovis infection in three white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum): Susceptibility, clinical and anatomical pathology

et al. 2017

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Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis is endemic in the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) population in the Kruger National Park and other conservation areas in South Africa. The disease has been diagnosed in a total of 21 free ranging or semi-free ranging wildlife species in the country with highly variable presentations in terms of clinical signs as well as severity and distribution of tuberculous lesions. Most species are spillover or dead-end hosts without significant role in the epidemiology of the disease. White rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum) are translocated from the Kruger National Park in substantial numbers every year and a clear understanding of their risk to manifest overt tuberculosis disease and to serve as source of infection to other species is required. We report the findings of experimental infection of three white rhinoceroses with a moderately low dose of a virulent field isolate of Mycobacterium bovis. None of the animals developed clinical signs or disseminated disease. The susceptibility of the white rhinoceros to bovine tuberculosis was confirmed by successful experimental infection based on the ante mortem isolation of M. bovis from the respiratory tract of one rhinoceros, the presence of acid-fast organisms and necrotizing granulomatous lesions in the tracheobronchial lymph nodes and the detection of M. bovis genetic material by PCR in the lungs of two animals.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Experimental Mycobacterium bovis infection in three white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum): Susceptibility, clinical and anatomical pathology

et al. 2017

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“…This study focused on the ability to measure cytokines at the protein level (i.e., secreted) as opposed to cytokine expression at the RNA level, which has been used to investigate tuberculosis [ 21 , 23 , 24 , 26 ] and EEHV [ 27 ] infection in Asian elephants previously. The main advantage of this approach is that we can utilize cryopreserved serum samples that are already collected for routine veterinary and management purposes, allowing a longitudinal perspective on changes in immune function required for a better understanding of physiological and pathological processes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The immune response to infection can also be detected through altered cytokine production. For example, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-10 expression is increased in Asian elephants seropositive for tuberculosis [ 26 ], and TNF-α and IFN-γ are upregulated in in vitro stimulated immune cells from elephants with EEHV [ 27 ]. In this study, an Asian elephant with a systemic infection exhibited elevated IL-10, IFN-γ, and TNF-α compared to paired non-clinical sample concentrations in the same individual.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, the combination of cytokines produced can reflect the type and stage of the immune response [ 18 ], as well as provide prognostic information regarding the likelihood or progression of disease [ 19 , 20 ]. Some cytokine mRNAs have been characterized in Asian elephants [ 21 , 22 ] and studied previously [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]; however, measures of circulating protein concentrations through different pathological processes are lacking, as are typical values observed within a species or population to better interpret results.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Serum Health Biomarkers in African and Asian Elephants: Value Ranges and Clinical Values Indicative of the Immune Response

Edwards

Miller

Siegal-Willott

et al. 2020

Animals

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Serum biomarkers indicative of inflammation and disease can provide useful information regarding host immune processes, responses to treatment and prognosis. The aims of this study were to assess the use of commercially available anti-equine reagents for the quantification of cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukins (IL) 2, 6, and 10) in African (Loxodonta africana, n = 125) and Asian (Elephas maximus, n = 104) elephants, and alongside previously validated anti-human reagents for acute-phase proteins (serum amyloid A and haptoglobin), calculate species-specific biomarker value ranges. In addition, we used opportunistically collected samples to investigate the concentrations of each biomarker during identified clinical cases of illness or injury, as a first step to understanding what biomarkers may be useful to managing elephant health. Immune biomarkers were each elevated above the calculated species-specific value ranges in at least one clinical case, but due to variability in both clinical and non-clinical samples, only serum amyloid A was significantly higher in clinical compared to non-clinical paired samples, with tendencies for higher TNF-α and IL-10. We also detected increased secretion of serum amyloid A and all five cytokines following routine vaccination of a single Asian elephant, indicating that these biomarkers can be beneficial for studying normal immune processes as well as pathology. This study indicates that assays developed with commercial reagents can be used to quantify health biomarkers in wildlife species and identifies several that warrant further investigation to elucidate immune responses to various pathologies.

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“…For an understanding of the physiology of the disease progression, Dr Landolfi's group looked at formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of lung from captive north American and Asian elephants. 51 Latent lesions were found to be well organized, discrete granulomas, with many activated macrophages and CD3+ T-cells. Histologically, in the active TB cases there were widespread, poorly granulomatous lesions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tackling tuberculosis: Insights from an international TB Summit in London

et al. 2015

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Tuberculosis (TB) poses a grave predicament to the world as it is not merely a scientific challenge but a socio-economic burden as well. A prime cause of mortality in human due to an infectious disease; the malady and its cause, Mycobacterium tuberculosis have remained an enigma with many questions that remain unanswered. The ability of the pathogen to survive and switch between varied physiological states necessitates a protracted therapeutic regimen that exerts an excessive strain on low-resource countries. To complicate things further, there has been a significant rise of antimicrobial resistance. Existing control measures, including treatment regimens have remained fairly uniform globally for at least half a century and require reinvention. Overcoming the societal and scientific challenges requires an increase in dialog to identify key regions that need attention and effective partners with whom successful collaborations can be fostered. In this report, we explore the discussions held at the International TB Summit 2015 hosted by EuroSciCon, which served as an excellent platform for researchers to share their recent findings. Ground-breaking results require outreach to affect policy design, governance and control of the disease. Hence, we feel it is important that meetings such as these reach a wider, global audience.

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Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)

Cited by 13 publications

References 45 publications

Experimental Mycobacterium bovis infection in three white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum): Susceptibility, clinical and anatomical pathology

Experimental Mycobacterium bovis infection in three white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum): Susceptibility, clinical and anatomical pathology

Serum Health Biomarkers in African and Asian Elephants: Value Ranges and Clinical Values Indicative of the Immune Response

Tackling tuberculosis: Insights from an international TB Summit in London

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