FieldDxTuberculosis in Nonhuman PrimatesClinical signs, differential diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Overview
A serious, often fatal bacterial disease of captive nonhuman primates, and a significant zoonosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (usually from human contact) or, less often, M. bovis.
Clinical signs
- Often asymptomatic or latent initially.
- Latent tuberculosis is characterized by healthy-looking, non-infectious, and skin-test-negative animals.
- Under stress or immune modulation, latent infections reactivate into active disease, causing progressive weight loss, coughing, respiratory distress, and high mortality.
Predisposing factors
- Close contact with infected humans or primates, and environmental stress (capture, transport, or laboratory housing).
Treatment
Treatment is generally not recommended in research colonies due to public health risks and the danger of selecting for drug-resistant strains; euthanasia of positive reactors is standard.
Prevention
1. Implement rigorous quarantine and testing. 2. Perform intradermal tuberculin skin-testing; note that skin-test conversion takes 3 to 4 weeks after initial exposure. 3. Retest animals at 2-week intervals until at least three consecutive negative tests are recorded for the entire group, with the last test within 14 days before release from quarantine. 4.
Source
The Merck Veterinary Manual 11th Edition (Passage 322)
MSD Veterinary Manual — Tuberculosis in Nonhuman Primates (accessed 2026-08-11)
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