Bangalore, Oct 29, 2012, DHNS:
Two more sloth bears, Aman (18) and Danny (15), died at the Bear Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (BRRC) at the Bannerghatta Biological Park here on Monday due to tuberculosis.
According to Dr Arun A Sha, the bears topped the list of critical animals in the park that had erratic food habits. They are believed to have contracted tuberculosis from human beings.
Although Aman’s condition was critical, and the bear was on a liquid diet, Danny’s death was an abrupt surprise to the staff at the park. The bear had been responding to treatment better than the other infected sloth bears.
Aman, which was given antibiotics and food supplements, collapsed at around 7 am and died.
“After Aman’s death, Danny, who was walking inside the enclosure, died at around 8: 30 am,” said Dr Arun.
The postmortem reports revealed that both bears were suffering from puss-filled lungs.
Samples for testing The BRRC had sent nearly 40 samples to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad.
Tests at the Centre showed that Danny and several other bears were infected with tuberculosis.
The polymerase chain reaction tests, however, failed to detect tuberculosis among the animals. As the veterinarians failed to find an ideal testing kit to diagnose TB among the bears, they quarantined them based on the symptom of erratic eating habits among the animals.
Though the bears were given anti-TB drugs, their condition worsened as they refused to eat food mixed with medicine. Thus, they were given boosters to cope with the infection.
In the past four months nine bears have died of tuberculosis at the rescue centre.
According to Dr Arun A Sha, the bears topped the list of critical animals in the park that had erratic food habits. They are believed to have contracted tuberculosis from human beings.
Although Aman’s condition was critical, and the bear was on a liquid diet, Danny’s death was an abrupt surprise to the staff at the park. The bear had been responding to treatment better than the other infected sloth bears.
Aman, which was given antibiotics and food supplements, collapsed at around 7 am and died.
“After Aman’s death, Danny, who was walking inside the enclosure, died at around 8: 30 am,” said Dr Arun.
The postmortem reports revealed that both bears were suffering from puss-filled lungs.
Samples for testing The BRRC had sent nearly 40 samples to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad.
Tests at the Centre showed that Danny and several other bears were infected with tuberculosis.
The polymerase chain reaction tests, however, failed to detect tuberculosis among the animals. As the veterinarians failed to find an ideal testing kit to diagnose TB among the bears, they quarantined them based on the symptom of erratic eating habits among the animals.
Though the bears were given anti-TB drugs, their condition worsened as they refused to eat food mixed with medicine. Thus, they were given boosters to cope with the infection.
In the past four months nine bears have died of tuberculosis at the rescue centre.
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