Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a causative agent of chronic tuberculosis disease, is widespread among some animal species too. There is paucity of information on the distribution, prevalence and true disease status of tuberculosis in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). The aim of this study was to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of serological tests to diagnose M. tuberculosis infection in captive elephants in southern India while simultaneously estimating sero-prevalence.
Methodology/principal Findings: Health assessment of 600 elephants was carried out and their sera screened with a commercially available rapid serum test. Trunk wash culture of select rapid serum test positive animals yielded no animal positive for M. tuberculosis isolation. Under Indian field conditions where the true disease status is unknown, we used a latent class model to estimate the diagnostic characteristics of an existing (rapid serum test) and new (four in-house ELISA) tests. One hundred and seventy nine sera were randomly selected for screening in the five tests. Diagnostic sensitivities of the four ELISAs were 91.3-97.6% (95% Credible Interval (CI): 74.8-99.9) and diagnostic specificity were 89.6-98.5% (95% CI: 79.4-99.9) based on the model we assumed. We estimate that 53.6% (95% CI: 44.6-62.8) of the samples tested were free from infection with M. tuberculosis and 15.9% (97.5% CI: 9.8 - to 24.0) tested positive on all five tests.
Conclusions/significance: Our results provide evidence for high prevalence of asymptomatic M. tuberculosis infection in Asian elephants in a captive Indian setting. Further validation of these tests would be important in formulating area-specific effective surveillance and control measures.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500311 | PMC |
| http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0049548 | PLOS |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
SEROCONVERSION CAN PRECEDE CULTURE CONFIRMED DIAGNOSIS OF INFECTION IN ASIAN ELEPHANTS () BY DECADES.
J Zoo Wildl Med
December 2024
Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, Hohenwald, TN 38462, USA.
() infection was diagnosed in 16 human-managed Asian elephants () at four different US facilities. A retrospective review was performed to collate information on serological test results and describe the timelines from exposure to an elephant known to be positive for , detection of antimycobacterial antibodies in the exposed elephant, and isolation from the exposed elephant to confirm diagnosis. Seroconversion was defined by a positive test result using ElephantTB STAT-PAK, multiantigen print immunoassay, or DPP VetTB assay for elephants (Chembio Diagnostic Systems, Inc).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComparing unilateral and bilateral cerebral perfusion during total arch replacement for acute type A aortic dissection.
Interdiscip Cardiovasc Thorac Surg
December 2024
Department of Vascular Surgery, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Objectives: To assess the effects of unilateral versus bilateral antegrade cerebral perfusion (u-ACP vs b-ACP) on postoperative complications and mid-term follow-up results in Asian patients with acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) undergoing total arch replacement (TAR) + the frozen elephant trunk (FET).
Methods: Clinical baseline data and postoperative complications of 702 ATAAD patients undergoing TAR+ FET at China Cardiovascular Centre Fuwai Hospital between January 2019 and December 2022 were collected. Patients were categorized into two groups based on antegrade cerebral perfusion: unilateral (n = 402) and bilateral (n = 300).
Haplotype-resolved nonaploid genome provides insights into flowering in bamboos.
Hortic Res
December 2024
Germplasm Bank of Wild Species & Yunnan Key Laboratory of Crop Wild Relatives Omics, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132 Lanhei Road, Panlong District, Kunming, Yunnan 650201, China.
Woody bamboos (Bambusoideae) are renowned for its polyploidy and rare flowering. is one of the bamboo species with the highest chromosome count (104) in the subfamily and has the highest heterozygosity of all sequenced bamboo genomes so far. Compared with other bamboo species, it can efficiently utilize exogenous hormones to regulate flowering, providing valuable insights into the hormonal regulation of bamboo flowering.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ecology of plant extinctions.
Trends Ecol Evol
December 2024
Center for Integrative Conservation and Yunnan Key Laboratory for the Conservation of Tropical Rainforests and Asian Elephants, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 6663030, China; Honorary Research Associate, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Richmond, TW9 3AE, UK. Electronic address:
Extinctions occur when enough individual plants die without replacement to extirpate a population, and all populations are extirpated. While the ultimate drivers of plant extinctions are known, the proximate mechanisms at individual and population level are not. The fossil record supports climate change as the major driver until recently, with land-use change dominating in recent millennia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMusth cases in two captive male Asian elephants () in Korea.
J Vet Sci
November 2024
Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea.
Importance: When male elephants reach sexual maturity, they exhibit excessive sexual behaviors called musths. The musth period is important in the management of elephant herds. However, the timing of the musth and the effect of musth elephants on non-musth elephants in Korea have not been clearly analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!