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Do elephants that test positive for tuberculosis display any symptoms?

April 26, 2017display Elephants positive symptoms Test tuberculosis

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Do elephants that test positive for tuberculosis display any symptoms?

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A. Common sense tells you that there are many symptoms that can be misdiagnosed for any illness like an allergy can be misdiagnosed as a cold. So as part of Ringling Bros.® preventive medicine program our animals and staff are screened and, if tuberculosis is detected, immediate notification is provided to the appropriate agencies and treatment prescribed. Q. Do the elephants have multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-Tb)? A. No. Q. How do elephants respond to the treatment of tuberculosis? A. As with treating any animal or human, response to treatments will vary and changes to treatment will be prescribed. All of the animals at Ringling Bros. are looked over daily as part of our preventive medicine program. Q. What if an elephant doesn’t respond to treatment? A. We will prescribe another treatment. Q. Have any of Ringling Bros. elephants been euthanized as a result of TB? A. No. Q. Is this the first time tuberculosis has occurred at Ringling Bros.? A. While no actively touring elepha