(IN) Kerala Elephants infected with TB

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Humans give Kerala elephants a TB scare

Don Sebastian / DNA

Saturday, July 4, 2009 3:19 IST

 

Thiruvananthapuram: Pigs are being blamed for the latest human pandemic - swine

flu. But conservationists fear that humans are doing equal damage to some of

their jumbo pets.

A study by the Indian Institute of Sciences revealed that slightly over 15% of

captive elephants in south India suffer from tuberculosis, apparently due to

their little masters.

The Asian Elephant Research & Conservation Centre, which studied 387 captive

elephants in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar Islands,

found 15.25% of the studied animals were suffering from tuberculosis.

At least 16 of the 63 temple elephants and 24 of the 160 privately-owned

elephants were affected by tuberculosis. And of the 164 elephants maintained by

the various forest departments, only 10 were found to be affected by

tuberculosis.

" The data shows temple elephants are more susceptible to tuberculosis, " Dr Jacob

V Cheeran, who led the study funded by US-based Elephant Care International,

said.

" India has the highest incidence of tuberculosis. It's a zoonotic disease, which

can pass from animals to humans and vice versa. The high incidence of

tuberculosis among temple elephants shows that they got it from humans, " he

said.

The study covered Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Ernakulam districts in

Kerala, where indigenous medicine has been developed exclusively for elephants.

" During festival seasons, hundreds of tuskers are decked up and made to stand

amid huge crowds. In such an atmosphere, it's easy for animals to get infected.

Elephants may also contract the disease if revellers spit on elephant fodder or

sneeze on the elephants, " he said.

" Moreover, elephants and mahouts share a special bond. Many a times, mahouts

share their food with the elephants and unwillingly end up passing on any

infection they may have, " he said.

Besides, keeping the animal in closed quarters and transporting them atop trucks

makes them prone to contracting such diseases.

Though the bacterial infection is not as dangerous as the viral one, which

mutates during its journey from species to species, scientists fear the epidemic

could spread to the wilderness. " Captive elephants are sometimes sent to wild

sanctuaries. Even cattle are allowed to graze in most sanctuaries. These animals

may spread diseases like tuberculosis to wild animals, " he said.

The group is now pinning its hopes on the Union budget to begin the next stage

of survey to examine whether elephant tuberculosis has spread to the wild.