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 the lung of this animal and the lung of an adult male hyrax in the colony. 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 late 1950s in South Africa and to M. microti, but appeared to be more closely related to the "dassie bacillus". It is likely that at least one of the hyrax was infected at the time of collection in South Africa. The finding of tuberculosis in these imported animals highlights concern over the lack of suitable tests for the detection of tuberculosis in unusual animal species such as these, and the problems that can arise as a result of the importation of infected animals.