Lacasse Claude, Terio Karen, Kinsel Michael J, Farina Lisa L, Travis Dominic A, Greenwald Rena, Lyashchenko Konstantin P, Miller Michele, Gamble Kathryn C
Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, Illinois 60614, USA.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2007 Mar;38(1):101-7. doi: 10.1638/06-051.1.
Mycobacterium szulgai was associated with mortality in two captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana) housed at Lincoln Park Zoo. The first elephant presented with severe, acute lameness of the left rear limb. Despite extensive treatments, the animal collapsed and died 13 mo after initial presentation. Necropsy revealed osteomyelitis with loss of the femoral head and acetabulum and pulmonary granulomas with intralesional M. szulgai. The second elephant collapsed during transport to another institution with no premonitory clinical signs. This animal was euthanized because of prolonged recumbency. Granulomatous pneumonia with intralesional M. szulgai was found at necropsy. Two novel immunoassays performed on banked serum samples detected antibody responses to mycobacterial antigens in both infected elephants. It was not possible to determine when the infection was established or how the elephants were infected. When reviewing the epidemiology of this organism in humans, however, transmission between elephants seemed unlikely because human-to-human transmission of this organism has never been reported and a third elephant in the herd was not affected. In addition to Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, atypical mycobacterial organisms need to be considered potentially pathogenic in elephants.
林肯公园动物园饲养的两头圈养非洲象（Loxodonta africana）的死亡与苏尔加分枝杆菌有关。第一头大象出现左后肢严重急性跛行。尽管进行了广泛治疗，但该动物在初次出现症状13个月后倒下并死亡。尸检显示股骨头和髋臼骨质流失以及肺部肉芽肿，并在病灶内发现苏尔加分枝杆菌。第二头大象在转运至另一机构的过程中毫无预兆地倒下，因长期躺卧而实施安乐死。尸检发现肉芽肿性肺炎，病灶内有苏尔加分枝杆菌。对保存的血清样本进行的两项新型免疫测定检测到了两头感染大象针对分枝杆菌抗原的抗体反应。无法确定感染何时发生或大象是如何感染的。然而，在回顾该病原体在人类中的流行病学情况时，大象之间的传播似乎不太可能，因为从未有过该病原体人传人的报道，且象群中的第三头大象未受影响。除了牛分枝杆菌和结核分枝杆菌外，非典型分枝杆菌也需要被视为大象潜在的致病病原体。
