Tourists are not recommended to approach the elephants of Jaipur, India and ride on their backs. The animals are suffering from an epidemic of tuberculosis.
In India, “damning reports that blind and contagious elephants are forced to carry heavy loads on a daily basis prove that these tourist attractions must be ended,” said Cyril Ernst, spokesperson for PETA France, an association against animal abuse. “PETA’s urgent warning aims to protect travelers and sick and ailing elephants who are deprived of much-needed veterinary care, putting everyone at risk.”
Among the elephants forced to ride tourists on their backs at Jaipur’s Amber Fort, 10 suffer from tuberculosis, a disease transmissible to humans. It is therefore not recommended for tourists to approach animals, and to go for a walk on their back, an attraction of the region. The association also sent a letter calling on the Indian Ministry of Health to urge the state government of Rajasthan to quarantine the sick elephants, urgently provide them with the necessary veterinary care and have the other elephants tested. interact with the public.
Contagious disease
Beyond the health aspect, the association denounces a serious and manifest mistreatment of elephants. Several are over 50 years old, 19 of them are blind or nearly blind, all suffer from various foot problems, including too long fingernails and bruising to the pads. Many of them exhibit stereotypical behaviors, such as repetitive movements and incessant nods, signs of severe psychological distress. In addition, 47 of these elephants had their tusks removed, in violation of the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act.
Tuberculosis is a contagious disease, secondary to infection with Koch’s bacillus (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), is transmitted by air: a cough, a sneeze, a sputum, even a simple discussion too close to his interlocutor, project the tuberculous bacilli in Ambiant air. The person who inhales these airborne droplets in turn becomes infected. It is estimated that an infected and untreated subject can infect 10 to 15 other people in the space of a year.
Tuberculosis is contagious for the first 15 days after detection. In about 10% of those infected, it is not controlled by the immune system, and complications can set in, especially in the lungs. People with the disease must be isolated for 10 to 20 days, and are treated with antibiotics for about 6 months.
Tuberculosis is mistakenly thought to be an old, gone disease. The two units of the psychiatric service at Dreux hospital were, for example, closed until July 10 after the detection ofone case of tuberculosis among healthcare workers.
Track the patient’s entourage
The lack of culture around this pathology leads people to confuse the infection (harmless in 90% of cases) and the disease itself. “A third of humanity, or 2 billion people in the world, is infected with the tuberculosis microbe, explains Professor François-Xavier Blanc, head of the pneumology department of the Nantes University Hospital and specialist in tuberculosis. . “That is to say, they have already encountered the tuberculosis microbe and it is sleeping in them.”
But 90% of those infected will never experience any symptoms and never know anything about them. “10% of them, specifies the doctor, present on the other hand a risk of developing the disease, because the microbe will wake up. the carrier subject. This is what is called ‘the investigation of a case’, the prerogative of anti-tuberculosis centers.
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