Disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex infection following renal transplantation in a cat.

Abstract

An 11-year-old cat with a history of renal transplantation and treatment with cyclosporine and prednisolone was examined because of vomiting, diarrhea, inappetence, lethargy, and weight loss. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed 2 large heteroechoic masses thought to be mesenteric lymph nodes. Ultrasound-guided biopsy was performed, and histologic examination of biopsy specimens revealed granulomatous inflammation of presumptive lymph node tissue. Examination of sections stained with acid-fast stains revealed innumerable acid-fast bacilli within histiocytes, and a presumptive diagnosis of mycobacteriosis was made. The cat's clinical condition deteriorated, and euthanasia was elected. At necropsy, granulomatous inflammation was present within the mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, liver, small and large intestines, lungs, and bone marrow. Bacterial culture yielded Mycobacterium avium, a slow-growing, opportunistic, saprophytic mycobacterium that can cause tuberculous lesions that are clinically indistinguishable from those associated with classic tuberculosis. It is a rare cause of disseminated mycobacteriosis in human transplant recipients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of disseminated M avium complex infection in a feline transplant recipient.

• Authors: Alison Griffin, Alisa L Newton, Lillian R Aronson, Dorothy Cimino Brown, Rebecka S Hess
• Journal: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (J Am Vet Med Assoc) Vol. 222 Issue 8 Pg. 1097-101, 1077-8 (Apr 15 2003) ISSN: 0003-1488 [Print] United States
• PMID: 12710773 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Topics

• Animals
• Cat Diseases (diagnosis, immunology, microbiology)
• Cats
• Diagnosis, Differential
• Fatal Outcome
• Female
• Immunocompromised Host
• Kidney Transplantation (adverse effects, veterinary)
• Lymph Nodes (microbiology, pathology)
• Mycobacterium avium Complex (isolation & purification)
• Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection (diagnosis, immunology, microbiology, veterinary)
• Opportunistic Infections (diagnosis, microbiology, veterinary)