Elephants test positive for tuberculosis at Point Defiance Zoo
Two elephants at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium have tested positive for tuberculosis, zoo officials announced Wednesday.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease affecting the lungs, and there is evidence it can be passed from some animals, including elephants, to humans.
That’s what officials believed happened when staff members tested positive with a latent, or inactive, tuberculosis infection in September. A tuberculosis infection is not contagious when it is in the latent stage, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. The staff members had all worked with the elephants.
“We’re all assuming that the source of exposure is the elephants,” Point Defiance Zoo director Alan Varsik told The News Tribune.
Currently, “there’s virtually no risk to our audience,” Varsik said, but staff are taking safety precautions.
“Keeping our staff, animals and the public safe continues to be our top priority. Now that we have these test results, our animal care team is assessing next steps for these beloved animals,” Varsik said in a press release.
The zoo’s two elderly elephants, Hanako and Suki, both tested positive but are not showing symptoms of the illness, officials said. The animal care team is monitoring them closely, according to head veterinarian Dr. Karen Wolf. The two elephants are above the median life expectancy for a female Asian elephant in human care, which is about 47 years.
“Both elephants continue to eat well and spend time in their outdoor habitat every day,“ Wolf said. “At ages 56 and 55, Hanako and Suki are geriatric elephants with multiple health challenges. So intensive, long-term TB treatment is not the best medical approach for them.”
No active human cases of tuberculosis have been found as public health authorities continue to investigate.
Bacteria that cause tuberculosis most commonly are spread from person to person via coughing and sneezing.
Tuberculosis has been reported in elephants as far back as 1875 and occurs in elephants in the wild and in zoos, according to a press release by Point Defiance.
