We report a case of tuberculosis due to infection with Mycobacterium bovis in an elderly male black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor) from the Limpopo Province in South Africa. The animal was euthanized due to very poor condition, old age, and dental attrition. Necropsy examination revealed two small nonencapsulated granulomas (∼40-mm diameter) in the dorsocaudal lobe of the left lung. Sequencing of isolated crude lung tissue PCR product and boiled lung culture samples confirmed that the causative organism was M. bovis. Genotyping revealed limited similarities with M. bovis strains isolated thus far from South African cattle or wildlife. The source of the infection could not be determined. This case illustrates that M. bovis could impact conservation of free-ranging rare and endangered species. Effective diagnostics are urgently needed for different animal species, such as white or black rhinoceroses, to certify with a reasonable degree of certainty that these animals are free of tuberculosis in natural habitats.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 October 2009
Pulmonary Infection due to Mycobacterium bovis in a Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor) in South Africa
Ian W. Espie,
Tiny M. Hlokwe,
Nicolaas C. Gey van Pittius,
Emily Lane,
Adrian S. W. Tordiffe,
Anita L. Michel,
Annélle Müller,
Antoinette Kotze,
Paul D. van Helden
Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Vol. 45 • No. 4
October 2009
Vol. 45 • No. 4
October 2009
black rhinoceros
Diceros bicornis minor
genetic typing
Mycobacterium bovis
pulmonary granuloma