Research overview: diagnosing tuberculosis in free-ranging carnivores

Detecting Mycobacterium bovis and related mycobacteria in wild carnivores is notoriously difficult, complicating both research and management. This overview surveys the diagnostic toolkit applied to free-ranging felids and other carnivores: intradermal skin tests adapted from livestock, blood-based interferon-gamma and antibody assays, culture, and molecular detection, each with limitations in sensitivity, specificity and field practicality. It examines the challenge of antemortem diagnosis in animals that cannot be repeatedly handled, the value of necropsy and tissue culture, and efforts to develop reliable wildlife-specific tests. The synthesis connects diagnostic capability to the ability to estimate prevalence and guide interventions. It aims to explain why uncertainty in detecting TB shapes much of what we can and cannot conclude about its true burden in lions and other wild cats.