Molecular identification and infection pathology of Mycobacterium spp. in captive wild animals in Pakistan

Authors

  • Komal Akhtar Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
  • Ishtiaq Ahmed Department of Pathobiology (Pathology Section), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore’ sub-campus CVAS, Jhang, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3800-0869
  • Muhammad Yasin Tipu Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
  • Tahir Yaqub Institute of Microbiology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Shahid Veterinary Research Institute, Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan
  • Aziz ur Rehman Department of Pathobiology (Pathology Section), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore’ sub-campus CVAS, Jhang, Pakistan
  • Muhammad Zishan Ahmad Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2643-9049
  • Ammar Ghani Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
  • Aman Ullah Khan Department of Pathobiology (Microbiology Section), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore’ sub-campus CVAS, Jhang, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5616-7833
  • Adeem Rehman Rafie Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1585-3850
  • Muhammad Kamran Rafique Department of Pathobiology (Pathology Section), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore’ sub-campus CVAS, Jhang, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0530-8445
  • Muhammad Saadullah Department of Pathobiology (Pathology Section), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore’ sub-campus CVAS, Jhang, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4397-279X
  • Muhammad Kashif Department of Clinical Sciences (Clinical Medicine section), University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore’ sub-campus CVAS, Jhang, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1321-9573
  • Asim Aslam Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.17287

Keywords:

Tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. tuberculosis, wildlife, pathology, PCR

Abstract

Introduction: Animal tuberculosis is an infectious, chronic, granulomatous, and debilitating disease affecting animals as well as humans. However, in recent decades, there have been many endemic geographic localities where animal tuberculosis has been identified in wildlife reservoirs, limiting the eradication program in cattle. This study aimed to identify animal tuberculosis in captive zoo animals in Pakistan.

Methodology: In total, 185 morbid zoo animals were brought for postmortem examination at a veterinary postmortem facility. During the macroscopic examination, these animals were thoroughly examined for the presence of suggestive gross lesions of animal tuberculosis (granulomas/tubercles), and the pattern and distribution of these lesions in different organs. The Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining was performed on smears prepared from granulomatous lesions of lung tissue followed by molecular identification of M. bovis and M. tuberculosis DNA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Results: The postmortem examination revealed that 8.1% (15/185) of animals had gross tuberculosis lesions on the lungs and lymph nodes. The ZN staining of tissue smears showed 5.40% positivity while M. bovis and M. tuberculosis DNA was identified in 3.78 % and 1.1% of investigated animals, respectively.

Conclusions: The study showed that animal tuberculosis is prevalent among wildlife in Pakistan and it may pose serious public health concerns to the people visiting these zoos and wildlife parks.

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Published

2023-08-31

How to Cite

1.
Akhtar K, Ahmed I, Tipu MY, Yaqub T, Shahid M, Rehman A ur, Ahmad MZ, Ghani A, Khan AU, Rehman Rafie A, Rafique MK, Saadullah M, Kashif M, Aslam A (2023) Molecular identification and infection pathology of Mycobacterium spp. in captive wild animals in Pakistan. J Infect Dev Ctries 17:1107–1113. doi: 10.3855/jidc.17287

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 08: August 2023

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Komal Akhtar, Ishtiaq Ahmed, Muhammad Yasin Tipu, Tahir Yaqub, Muhammad Shahid, aziz-ur-rehman, Muhammad Zishan Ahmed, Ammar Ghani, Aman Ullah Khan, Adeem Rehman Rafie, Muhammad Kamran Rafique, Muhammad saadullah, Muhammad Kashif, Asim Aslam

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