Abstract:
Tuberculosis (TB) in humans is a global public health concern and the discovery of animal
cases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection and disease, especially in multi-host
settings, also has significant implications for public health, veterinary disease control,
and conservation endeavors. This paper describes a fatal case of Mtb disease in a
free-ranging African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in a high human TB burden region.
Necropsy revealed extensive granulomatous pneumonia, from which Mtb was isolated
and identified as a member of LAM3/F11 lineage; a common lineage found in humans
in South Africa. These findings are contextualized within a framework of emerging Mtb
disease in wildlife globally and highlights the importance of the One Health paradigm in
addressing this anthroponotic threat to wildlife and the zoonotic implications.
