Pulmonary Mycobacterium bovis infection in a dog.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the clinical course of a dog infected with Mycobacterium bovis causing a granulomatous pneumonia.


RESULTS
The dog initially presented with a persistent cough, inappetence and weight loss. Clinical findings included a fever, dyspnoea and tachypnoea, with haematological evidence of a mild neutrophilia and hypoalbuminaemia. Radiographs of the chest demonstrated a concomitant pneumothorax, pleural effusion, and a consolidated area within the left caudal lung lobe. An exploratory thoracotomy revealed this to be a ruptured granulomatous lesion. Subsequent histopathological, microbiological and genetic studies identified M. bovis as the causal agent.


CONCLUSIONS
Mycobacterium bovis infections should be included in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary disease and pleural effusions in dogs living in regions of New Zealand known to have a high incidence of mycobacterial infection in wildlife and farm animals.
Gay
G
G
Mt Wellington Vet Clinic, Mt Eden, Auckland, New Zealand.
Burbidge
H M
HM
Bennett
P
P
Fenwick
S G
SG
Dupont
C
C
Murray
A
A
Alley
M R
MR