According to the Wuppertal Zoo, an African elephant has been diagnosed with tetanus for the first time – the young bull Tsavo had to be put down. Tests at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) confirmed the infection, as the Wuppertal Zoo, where Tsavo lived, announced on Thursday. After Tsavo’s death, veterinarians suspected tetanus.
Drug treatment of tetanus is difficult, and there is no vaccine approved for zoo animals, the zoo writes. “It is not customary to vaccinate because there has not yet been a case of tetanus in elephants in Europe,” said administrative director Jochen Witjes after the young animal’s death. “This is the first confirmed case in an African elephant and in an elephant in Europe,” it said in a statement.
The bull elephant was euthanized on Sunday November 20 – two days after the first symptoms appeared. The young bull was only two years and eight months old. A tusk fracture in September or a weeping skin area could have led to the infection, according to the zoo. Tsavo initially had problems with his posture, cramps followed a little later, and in the end he could no longer get up.
PM
