Outbreak of tuberculosis caused byMycobacterium bovisin a cattery of Abyssinian cats in Italy

Abstract

Mycobacterium bovis is a re-emerging zoonosis; it was diagnosed in five Abyssinian cats in a breeding cattery in Italy. The infection entered the cattery with an imported kitten (cat A); it had a suspected bite wound on its leg that had been treated at a veterinary clinic in Kiev, Ukraine, which is probably where it became infected with M. bovis. When the kitten arrived in Italy, there were four cats in the cattery; an adult female, her two kittens and a kitten imported from Russia. These were all healthy, and had no outdoor access. All five cats developed tuberculous interstitial pneumonia; in cat A this occurred 6 weeks after importation, the others were diagnosed 4-6 weeks later. Three cats were euthanised with deteriorating pneumonia while two cats remained clinically well on antibiotic therapy (marbofloxacin, doxycycline and azithromycin). The latter cases were euthanised after 5 weeks, as required by Italian law once M. bovis infection was suspected. Changes consistent with tuberculosis on gross post-mortem examination included mesenteric and mediastinal lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly and hepatomegaly, and the presence of disseminated focal white lesions on the cut surface of the spleen, liver and lungs. Visible acid-fast bacteria (cats A, B and C) were confirmed as Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex by PCR (cats A, B, C, D and E), refined to M. bovis (cats A, B and D), spoligotype SB0950 (cats A and D).

Emerging source of infection – Mycobacterium tuberculosis in rescue dogs: a case report

“…Treatment required extended medical follow-up of the dog and dedicated education of the owners. In Italy, five indoor cats in a cattery with respiratory M. bovis infection were euthanized despite treatment [3]. Import of a kitten that had a bite wound from Ukraine was the suspected source.…”

“…Isoniazid causes neurological side effects, rifampicin is hepatotoxic, streptomycin is reserved for human use only, and M. bovis, which is the most common cause of TB in dogs, is resistant to pyrazinamide [12,13]. Animals may also have to be euthanized despite treatment [3], suboptimal therapy may select drug resistance, and the risk for recurrence and re-infection remain, if exposure is repeated [14]. These cases therefore pose serious public health safety concerns, and the general resolution is that affected family dogs should be euthanized.…”

“…As import is also a form of business, the operations may have unethical features; for example, the vaccination certificates may not be valid, i.e. no detectable serological sign of vaccination [2] or discrepancies in locations between documents, such as local vaccine availability [3]. In addition is the problem of smuggling.…”

Tuberculosis due toMycobacterium bovisin pet cats associated with feeding a commercial raw food diet

“…61 Additionally, feline abdominal M bovis infections acquired in a nosocomial setting and cats with disseminated M bovis infection that appeared to have followed extensive ingestion also displayed rapid clinical progression and severe signs such that euthanasia on welfare grounds was quickly required. 62,63 The parallels between these fulminant outbreaks suggest that there may be an underlying difference in the immunopathogenesis of the disease, whereby gastrointestinal/peritoneal challenge of companion animals with M bovis results in more severe disease that is less amenable to treatment. Thus there may be implications for the clinical management of gastrointestinal TB cases in comparison with the more typical dermal presentation.…”

Development and evaluation of a triplex droplet digital PCR method for differentiation of M. tuberculosis, M. bovis and BCG

“…MTBC can infect humans and a variety of animals, posing a threat to the concept of “one health” ( Marais et al, 2019 ). For MTBC not only effects domestic animals such as cattle ( Gutierrez Reyes et al, 2012 ) and goats ( Quintas et al, 2010 ), companion animals such as cats ( Cerna et al, 2019 ) and dogs ( Rocha et al, 2017 ), but also affects wildlife including elephants ( Maslow and Mikota, 2015 ), badgers ( Smith and Budgey, 2021 ), deer ( Amato et al, 2016 ), etc. Notably, M. tuberculosis is the primary pathogen responsible for human TB, resulting in millions of deaths annually ( Rahlwes et al, 2023 ).…”