TUBERCULOSIS IN IMPORTED HYRAX (PROCAVIA-CAPENSIS) CAUSED BY AN UNUSUAL VARIANT BELONGING TO THE MYCOBACTERIUM-TUBERCULOSIS COMPLEX

Tuberculosis was diagnosed in an adult female hyrax (Procavia capensis ) imported from South Africa and held in a captive colony at the Perth Zoo. An organism similar to Mycobacterium microti was isolated from t he lung of this animal and the lung of an adult male hyrax in the colo ny. The organism was not pathogenic to rabbits or guinea pigs. Protein profiles and RFLP patterns using the probes IS6110 and pTBN12 showed both hyrax isolates were identical. These isolates were similar to a M . tuberculosis complex strain isolated from dassies (hyrax) in the lat e 1950s in South Africa and to M. microti, but appeared to be more clo sely related to the ''dassie bacillus''. It is likely that at least on e of the hyrax was infected at the time of collection in South Africa. The finding of tuberculosis in these imported animals highlights conc ern over the lack of suitable tests for the detection of tuberculosis in unusual animal species such as these, and the problems that can ari se as a result of the importation of infected animals.