Tuberculosis has been diagnosed for the first time in a lynx, which doesn’t
bode well for the survival of one of Europe’s most endangered species. There are
fewer than 1000 Iberian lynxes left, mostly in the Doñana National Park
in southern Spain, and their numbers are falling. An adult male lynx that died
in the park was infected by the same strain of Mycobacterium bovis as
wild boar and fallow deer in the area. Victor Briones of Complutense University
in Madrid said in the March issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases that
TB “could have a devastating effect” on the lynx. Briones believes cattle
grazing in the park might be harbouring the disease.
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