Karachi Elephants Get TB Treatment with 400 Pills a Day

A group of doctors and vets has come up with a new way to treat two Karachi elephants at the Safari Park who are suffering from tuberculosis (TB). The treatment involves giving them at least 400 pills every day. The pills used are the same as those given to humans for TB.

To make it easier for the elephants to take their medicine, the pills are concealed within foods such as apples, bananas, and sweets. The dosage is adjusted based on the weight of the elephants, who each weigh around 4,000 kilograms (8,800 pounds).

The elephants, named Madhubala and Malika, took several weeks to get used to the medicine. At first, they would spit out the bitter pills and even charge at their keepers.

“Giving treatment for TB to elephants is always challenging. Each day we use different methods,” said Buddhika Bandara, a vet from Sri Lanka, leading the treatment. “The animals showed some stress in the beginning, but gradually they adapted to the procedure,” Bandara added.

Mahout Ali Baloch wakes up early every day to cook rice and lentils mixed with sugar cane molasses. He rolls the mix into dozens of balls and places the pills inside them.

The Common Occurrence of Tuberculosis

Four African elephants were brought to Karachi from Tanzania in 2009 after being taken from the wild at a young age. Two of them, Noor Jehan and Sonia, died. Noor Jehan died in 2023 at the age of 17, and Sonia died in 2024. An autopsy revealed that Sonia had TB, which is common in Pakistan.

Madhubala and Malika also tested positive for TB. The city council, which runs the Safari Park, formed a special team to care for them. According to Bandara, elephants can get TB from humans, and it was surprising that Sonia and now Madhubala and Malika had no symptoms even after testing positive.

“It was surprising for me that elephants have TB,” said Dr. Naseem Salahuddin, head of the Infectious Disease Department at Indus Hospital and Health Network. She is monitoring the safety of the staff.

“This is an interesting case for me and my students — everyone wants to know about the procedure and its progress,” she told AFP.

To stay safe, the four mahouts feeding the elephants wear masks and scrubs to avoid catching the disease, which affects over 500,000 people each year in Pakistan.

The Karachi Safari Park has faced criticism in the past for how it treated its animals. Authorities even rescued one elephant after a campaign led by American singer Cher. The park is now hoping that with the help of this year-long treatment plan, its last two elephants will fully recover.