Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Wild Asian Elephants, Southern India

Abstract

We tested wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in southern India and confirmed infection in 3 animals with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, an obligate human pathogen, by PCR and genetic sequencing. Our results indicate that tuberculosis may be spilling over from humans (reverse zoonosis) and emerging in wild elephants.

Keywords

• tuberculosis
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• elephant
• Elephas maximus
• India
• zoonoses