title: First Report of Mycobacterium bovis Isolation from a European Fallow Deer (Dama Dama Dama) in Iran.
abstract: At present, most of Iran is free of bovine tuberculosis (TB). The strategy of control and eradication in Iran involves a tuberculation test and slaughter of reactors, a procedure transformed the present-day prevalence of TB into a sporadic occurrence. This paper describes the first report of bovine tuberculosis in a European fallow deer (Dama dama dama) in Iran. The deer was emaciated and found dead in the Hoveize Provincial Zoo Park. Post-mortem examinations revealed multifocal granulomatous and suppurative abscesses in the lungs and mesenteric lymph nodes. These post-mortem indicators led the authors to suspect TB, and the PCR test and bacteriology tests confirmed it as an infection by the Mycobacterium bovis. This survey discusses the important implications of such findings for wildlife, especially livestock, as well as for human TB disease control, because deer are often conserved in public zoos and humans often come into contact with them.
authors.affiliation: Animal Diseases Control and Monitoring, Khuzestan Province Veterinary Organization, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Ehsan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gharib Mombeni
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tuberculosis, Razi Vaccine & Serum Research Institute, Hessarak, Karaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Nader
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mosavari
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tuberculosis, Iran Veterinary Organization, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Morad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moradi Gravand
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tuberculosis, Iran Veterinary Organization, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Abdol
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amir Rezai
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tuberculosis, Razi Vaccine & Serum Research Institute, Hessarak, Karaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Rohollah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Keshavarz
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tuberculosis, Razi Vaccine & Serum Research Institute, Hessarak, Karaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Keyvan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tadayon
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Tuberculosis, Razi Vaccine & Serum Research Institute, Hessarak, Karaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bakhshi
authors.affiliation: Animal Diseases Control and Monitoring, Khuzestan Province Veterinary Organization, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Behmanesh
keywords: European fallow deer; Iran; Mycobacterium bovis; Tuberculosis