The first visually-guided bronchoscopy in European bison (Bison bonasus) - An additional tool in the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis?

The European bison (Bison bonasus, EB) is an endangered species, and as about 1/3 of its global population is found in Poland, it is particularly important that Polish herds should be monitored. One particular concern is tuberculosis, which is not a marginal problem in wildlife in Poland, and has been microbiologically confirmed in EB, wolves (Canis lupus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa). However, ante mortem diagnosis of tuberculosis in EB is troublesome. Therefore, the present paper evaluates the potential of bronchoscopy as a diagnostic tool. Seven EB were studied, four of which were found to be naturally infected with M. caprae; in two of these, endoscopy identified abnormalities in the respiratory tract ante mortem. Therefore, despite some limitations, endoscopy can be an additional tool for diagnosing tuberculosis in EB, especially in highly valuable animals, and to assess the stage of the disease.
Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Wanda Olech reports financial support was provided by Forest Found (Poland). This author has no additional relationships to disclose. This author has no patents to disclose. The corresponding author reports no additional activities to disclose.
(© 2021 The Authors.)