Outbreak of Mycobacterium orygis in a Shipment of Cynomolgus Macaques Imported from Southeast Asia - United States, February-May 2023

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2024 Feb 22;73(7):145-148. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7307a2.ABSTRACTNonhuman primates (NHP) can become infected with the same species of Mycobacteria that cause human tuberculosis. All NHP imported into the United States are quarantined and screened for tuberculosis; no confirmed cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed among NHP during CDC-mandated quarantine during 2013-2020. In February 2023, an outbreak of tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium orygis was detected in a group of 540 cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) imported to the United States from Southeast Asia for research purposes. Although the initial exposure to M. orygis is believed to have occurred before the macaques arrived in the United States, infected macaques were first detected during CDC-mandated quarantine. CDC collaborated with the importer and U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratories in the investigation and public health response. A total of 26 macaques received positive test results for M. orygis by culture, but rigorous occupational safety protocols implemented during transport and at the quarantine facility prevented cases among caretakers in the United States. Although the zoonotic disease risk to the general population remains low, this outbreak underscores the importance of CDC's regulatory oversight of NHP importation and adherence to established biosafety protocols to protect the health of the United States research animal population an...

Source: MMWR Morb Mortal Wkl... - February 22, 2024 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Samantha D Swisher Sara J Taetzsch Mark E Laughlin William L Walker Adam J Langer Tyler C Thacker Jessica L Rinsky Kimberly A Lehman Anne Taffe Nancy Burton Doris M Bravo Emily McDonald Clive M Brown Emily G Pieracci Source Type: research