Short communicationTuberculosis in Kafue lechwe antelopes (Kobus leche Kafuensis) of the Kafue Basin in Zambia

Tuberculosis (TB) has been reported in the Kafue lechwe antelopes (Kobus leche Kafuensis) of Zambia. However, previous reports are restricted to the southern parts in Lochinvar, where only old male animals were investigated. This study was conducted to gather epidemiological information on TB in Lechwe antelopes across sexes and age groups in relation to other explanatory variables of disease occurrence in the Kafue Basin. Animals were hunted under a special licence to investigate diseases in the Kafue Basin during the 2004, 2005 and 2008 hunting seasons. Histopathology, acid-fast staining and mycobacterial culturing from tissue samples were conducted. A total of 119 animals were slaughtered with an estimated age range of 2.5-20 years. Of these, 29 (24.3% [95% CI: 16.5, 32.3%]) had necropsy lesions suggestive of tuberculosis, of which 21 (17.6% [95% CI: 10.7, 24.6%]) tested positive on acid-fast staining while 33 (27.7% [95% CI: 19.6, 35.9%]) showed culture and colony morphological characteristics suggestive of Mycobacterium species. On univariate analysis, animals with poor body condition were twice as likely to have tuberculosis associated lesions as those having good body conditions (OR = 2.3, 95% CI: 0.6, 9.3%). Based on lesion distribution, a respiratory route of mycobacterial infection is intimated.