Unusual manifestation of a mycobacterium bovis SB0950 infection in a domestic cat

Attig, F.; Barth, S., A.; Kohlbach, M.; Baumgärtner, Wolfgang; Lehmbecker, A.

doi:10.1016/j.jcpa.2019.07.006

Published

Unusual manifestation of a mycobacterium bovis SB0950 infection in a domestic cat

Attig, F.; Barth, S. A.; Kohlbach, M.; Baumgärtner, Wolfgang ; Lehmbecker, A.

Mycobacterium bovis is the main agent of bovine tuberculosis, but has also zoonotic potential. An 8-month-old female domestic shorthaired cat imported from Ukraine developed wound complications after abdominal surgery. A second surgery performed in Germany showed a focal, partly cystic mass within the mesentery. Despite antimicrobial treatment, the cat did not recover and was humanely destroyed. Grossly, several abdominal lymph nodes were enlarged. Histopathology revealed a mild to moderate, multifocal, granulomatous to pyogranulomatous, partially necrotizing inflammation, most prominent in the abdominal cavity. Within the lesions there were acid-fast bacilli within the cytoplasm of macrophages demonstrated by Ziehl-Neelsen staining. Further investigations revealed M. bovis SB0950 in the affected tissues.