Nosocomial spread of Mycobacterium bovis in domestic cats.
Aisling Murray, Andrea Dineen, Pamela Kelly, Karen McGoey, Gillian Madigan, Eadaoin NiGhallchoir, Dani��lle A Gunn-Moore
Author Information
Aisling Murray: University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland aislingmurrayvn@gmail.com.
Andrea Dineen: UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, Belfield, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Pamela Kelly: School of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Karen McGoey: University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Gillian Madigan: National Mycobacterial Reference Laboratory at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Kildare, Ireland.
Eadaoin NiGhallchoir: National Mycobacterial Reference Laboratory at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Kildare, Ireland.
Dani��lle A Gunn-Moore: Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Hospital for Small Animals, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Roslin, UK.
Five domestic cats were euthanased owing to confirmed or suspected Mycobacterium bovis infection. The initial source of infection remains unclear. Cat A was presented to a veterinary clinic in County Kildare, Ireland, with a discharging submandibular lesion. The infection appears to have been transmitted to four other cats through direct (cats B and C living in the same household as cat A) and non-direct (nosocomial spread during routine operations; cats D and E) contact over a 13.5-week period. Of the five cases, two (B and D) had post-mortem examinations in which gross changes consistent with tuberculosis were seen, moderate numbers of acid-fast bacteria (AFB) were seen on microscopy and M bovis (spoligotype SB0978) was confirmed on culture. Of the remaining three cats, one had a swab taken from its draining ovariohysterectomy wound, which revealed large numbers of AFB with morphology consistent with M bovis (cat E). Two cases were euthanased without diagnostic tests; however, their history and clinical presentations were highly suggestive of tuberculosis (cats A and C). To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of nosocomial spread of M bovis in cats.
References
Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 2011 Nov 15;144(1-2):129-34
[PMID: 21906820]
