Mycobacterioses in dogs and cats from Buenos Aires, Argentina

BARANDIARAN, SOLEDAD; MARTÍNEZ VIVOT, MARCELA; FALZONI, ELVIRA; MARFIL, MARÍA J.; PÉREZ TORT, GABRIELA; ROVATTI, PAULA; FERNÁNDEZ, MÓNICA; IACHINI, RICARDO; SATEK, FERNANDA; DUCHENE, ADRIANA; ZUMÁRRAGA, MARTÍN J.

JOURNAL OF VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATION

AMER ASSOC VETERINARY LABORATORY DIAGNOSTICIANS INC

Año: 2017 vol. 29 p. 729 - 732

1040-6387

Mycobacterioses can produce nonspecific clinical signs in dogs and cats that make diagnosis difficult. Furthermore,the full characterization of mycobacterial agents is not always possible or practical. We characterized mycobacteria detectedthrough cytology in 12 dogs and 7 cats with generalized clinical signs from the province of Buenos Aires in Argentina. In dogs,molecular testing confirmed the presence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis (MAH) in 8 cases and M. fortuitum in1 case. All dogs were Miniature Schnauzers, suggesting that this breed may be more susceptible to M. avium than other dogbreeds. The cat isolates were 2 M. bovis, 1 M. fortuitum, and 1 MAH. Mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit?variablenumbertandem repeat patterns suggested possible links with cattle, swine, and humans studied previously in Argentina. Theresults show that pets may act as susceptible hosts with the potential risk of transmitting the infection to humans and otheranimals.