Abstract

The Guidelines for the Control of Tuberculosis in Elephants 2003 (Guidelines) of the National Tuberculosis Working Group for Zoo and Wildlife Species were written to protect the health and safety of captive elephants together with their handlers and the viewing public.¹ The Guidelines specifically address the display and transport of captive elephants but do not address the unique situation of free-living elephants being imported and subsequently displayed to the public. Although the Guidelines describe a technique for collecting and handling a trunk wash in a trained, standing, non-anesthetized elephant, it does not describe a similar technique for anesthetized elephants in lateral recumbency. In an attempt to detect active mycobacterial infection in a group of 3 male and 8 female free-ranging African elephants scheduled for import into the United States, a technique was developed for collecting trunk washes in recumbent, anesthetized elephants for mycobacterial culture.

A South African game-capture crew, experienced in translocating elephants, anesthetized elephants in groups via remote drug delivery and from a helicopter. The ground crew accomplished multiple simultaneous procedures including anesthesia maintenance and monitoring, physical and reproductive examinations, collection of general diagnostic and investigative samples, and trunk washes for mycobacterial cultures. This was accomplished while the capture crew was preparing animals for loading into specially designed trailers for transport to a holding boma. Little time was available for any one procedure, with multiple animals being attended to at one time.

Once an elephant was stable in lateral recumbency, a 3-m foal stomach tube, prepackaged and sterilized, was inserted into the dependent side of the trunk tip. It was then gently fed up the trunk approximately 2.5 m. A 50-ml sample suction trap was attached to the end of the foal tube. The suction trap was then attached to a battery-powered, portable aspirator pump designed for emergency medical care. The aspiration pump was activated to collect secretions from the most proximal portion of the trunk. If little or no secretions were collected by this means, the system was disconnected between the sample trap and the foal tube. Then, 100 ml of sterile saline was placed into raised end of the foal tube, allowing it to drain toward the tip through gravity. The suction trap and aspiration pump were reattached to collect a sample in the sample trap. Then, the sample trap was replaced with a new trap, and the foal tube was inserted into the oral pharynx for collection of a separate oropharyngeal sample. This same procedure was repeated with each elephant.

Acknowledgments

South African veterinarians Mike Bester, Larry Killmar, Janet Payeur, ARC/OVI, Thomas Hildebrant, Eric Zeehandelar, Kevin Reily, Denise SoFranko.

Literature Cited

1.  National Tuberculosis Working Group for Zoo and Wildlife Species. 2003. Guidelines for the Control of Tuberculosis in Elephants 2003. USDA-APHIS. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/TBGuidelines2003.pdf. (VIN editor: This link is no longer accessible as of 2-5-21.)