European Society of Mycobacteriology - Instituto Nacional de Saúde ...

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PP-56
MYCOBACTERIA IN ANIMALS IN SLOVENIA –
AN OVERVIEW OF THE LAST DECADE
Mateja PATE 1 , Darja FERME 1 , Manca ŽOLNIR DOVC 2 , Matjaž OCEPEK 1
1 - Veterinary Faculty Ljubljana, Gerbiceva 60, SI-1115 Ljubljana, Slovenia;
e-mail: matjaz.ocepek@vf.uni-lj.si ; fax: +386 1 4779 352
2 - University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic Diseases Golnik, Golnik 36, SI-4204 Golnik, Slovenia
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Successful national control program carried out between 1962 and 1973 contributed to eradication of bovine tuberculosis
(BTB) in Slovenia. Since then, infections with the causative agents of BTB were seldom detected. The main role of
veterinary mycobacteriologists has therefore become the detection and identification of the causative agents of avian
tuberculosis and opportunistic mycobacterial pathogens. The aim of this study was to summarize the work done in the
past ten years (1999-2008) in the field of veterinary mycobacteriology in Slovenia.
Identification of the isolates was based on the following features and tests: colony morphology and growth characteristics,
biochemistry, PCR and commercial identification kits AccuProbe (Gen-Probe) and GenoType (Hain Lifescience).
From 1999 to 2008, a total of 292 mycobacteria were isolated from domestic, pet and wild animals in captivity. The vast
majority of isolates were represented by M. avium (80.1%), identified to subspecies level in 92.7% (M. a. subsp. avium –
36.3%, M. a. subsp. hominissuis – 56.4%), while 7.3% isolates remained identified as M. avium. These mycobacteria were
found predominantly in pigs, followed by cattle, poultry and exotic birds. M. caprae was found in 1.4% cases and was
related to an outbreak in a zoo, affecting bisons and camels, and to a single culture-positive case of BTB in cattle in the
last 15 years. M. tuberculosis was found in one cow (0.3%) as a consequence of human-to-animal transmission proven by
means of molecular epidemiology. Other species detected included M. terrae (0.7%, pigs), M. fortuitum (0.7%, pig & cattle),
M. scrofulaceum (0.3%, bison) and M. celatum (0.3%, pig). A relatively large proportion of isolates (16.1%) originating from
pigs, cattle, sheep, goat, mouflon, bison and monitor lizard were identified to the genus level only. This could be partly
attributed to the lack of reliable identification methods in the past.
Development of diagnostic kits based on molecular tests led to improved and easier diagnostics of mycobacteria, especially
of the species commonly found in the environment, therefore reducing the burden of unidentified mycobacteria in
a routine laboratory.
128 ESM 2009