tuberculosiscomplex organisms. described treatment conditions prior to DNA extraction. Extracted DNA was amplified using IS6110-targeted PCR analysis. The ZR and TSEP methods detected as low as 1 to 5M. boviscells and 10M. boviscells, respectively, per 1.5 ml of trunk wash under all three conditions. Depending on the amount of soil present, the column filtration method detected as low as 5 to 50M. boviscells per 1.5 ml of trunk wash. Analytical specificity was assessed by DNA extraction from species of nontuberculous mycobacteria and amplification using the same PCR technique. OnlyM. bovisDNA was amplified, indicating 100% analytical specificity of this PCR technique. Our results indicate that these DNA extraction techniques offer promise as useful tests for detection ofM. tuberculosiscomplex organisms in elephant trunk wash specimens. Tuberculosis (TB) is a highly contagious bacterial infection caused by organisms in theMycobacterium tuberculosiscomplex, most notablyMycobacterium tuberculosisorM. bovis. M. tuberculosistypically affects humans and nonhuman primates but has also been found in many other species, including elephants (17,19). Since 1996, BD-AcAc 2 TB has been diagnosed in many captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) housed in North America (14). TB in elephants is typically caused byM. tuberculosis, althoughM. bovisis also reported to infect these species (10). Between 1994 and 2005,M. tuberculosiswas detected in 31 Asian elephants and 3 African elephants in captivity in the United States (10). Based on estimates of approximately 535 captive elephants in the United States (14), there is an estimated prevalence of 6.3%; however, this estimate does not differentiate Asian elephants from African elephants. The disease also occurs in Asian elephants in Asia and is likely due to bothM. tuberculosisandM. bovisin Asian countries (1,12). Research investigating the epidemiology of TB in elephants in this part of the world is still in its early stages. In recent studies, prevalence of TB infection in Asian elephants was estimated to be 13% in Nepal and 15% in India (1,12), although it is not yet clear how many of BD-AcAc 2 these infections are due toM. tuberculosisand how many are due toM. bovis. Clinical signs of TB in elephants are variable. Some animals develop cavitary lesions of the lungs and become debilitated, while many others lack clinical signs (14). Both clinically and subclinically affected animals have the potential to spread the disease to other elephants, and to humans, through trunk secretions or other bodily fluids (13). Attention has been directed at assessing the extent of TB among elephants in North America and improving diagnostic techniques that enable early identification of infected animals. The number of Asian elephants is dropping worldwide due to habitat loss, poaching, and human competition for resources (16). If left uncontrolled, a highly contagious disease such as TB could cause substantial morbidity and mortality in elephant herds, further contributing to the decline in elephant numbers. Furthermore, an outbreak of TB among elephants in a zoo or circus setting could put numerous other animals and people at risk of infection. Treatment of TB in elephants requires several months of costly medication and may impose financial hardships on elephant-owning institutions (20). Infected elephants may also pose a threat to human health, as noted by BD-AcAc 2 at least one case in which an elephant keeper and an elephant shared the same strain ofM. tuberculosis(9). Thus, early diagnosis of TB is an essential step in effective management of the disease BD-AcAc 2 and is critical to reducing the number of new cases. Early diagnosis of TB requires the use of screening tests that are accurate, easily implemented, and cost-effective (14). Elephants typically lack clinical signs throughout most of theM. tuberculosisinfection period, so reliance on clinical signs BD-AcAc 2 is an insensitive mechanism of detecting disease. Serological techniques have recently been found to be useful for determining infection status, but antibody titer may remain positive after treatment, and these tests do not definitively prove the presence ofM. tuberculosiscomplex organisms (6,8). Currently, trunk wash culture serves as the gold standard for diagnosing TB in elephants (14,20). This diagnostic technique, however, has low sensitivity, requiring >100 organisms/ml for detection, and can take up to 8 Mouse monoclonal to CD11b.4AM216 reacts with CD11b, a member of the integrin a chain family with 165 kDa MW. which is expressed on NK cells, monocytes, granulocytes and subsets of T and B cells. It associates with CD18 to form CD11b/CD18 complex.The cellular function of CD11b is on neutrophil and monocyte interactions with stimulated endothelium; Phagocytosis of iC3b or IgG coated particles as a receptor; Chemotaxis and apoptosis weeks for the bacteria to grow in culture, during which time the bacteria may spread to other animals (11,1719). This.