Nosocomial spread of Mycobacterium bovis in domestic cats.
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.
University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland aislingmurrayvn@gmail.com.
Aisling
A
Murray
UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, Belfield, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Andrea
A
Dineen
School of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Pamela
P
Kelly
University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Karen
K
McGoey
National Mycobacterial Reference Laboratory at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Kildare, Ireland.
Gillian
G
Madigan
National Mycobacterial Reference Laboratory at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Kildare, Ireland.
Eadaoin
E
NiGhallchoir
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Hospital for Small Animals, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Roslin, UK.
Danièlle A
DA
Gunn-Moore
D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D001344:Autopsy; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D002415:Cats; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D007159:Immunologic Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D007494:Ireland; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000302:isolation & purification*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial