NOVEL DIAGNOSTIC METHOD IN SYSTEMIC MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM INFECTION IN A DOG
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Mycobacterium avium, bovis and tuberculosis can cause infections in dogs and are often hard to diagnose or even to differentiate. In this case, Mycobacterium avium was identified by a very modern diagnostic method, a polymerase chain reaction which identifies the nuclear acids of the organism. Not the diagnostic method was surprising but the material: a buffy-coat preparation!
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Dogs may be infected by Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis, M. bovis, and M. avium complex, and the clinical signs associated with each of these infections may be indistinguishable.
Rapid speciation of the infecting organism is desirable because of the public health concerns associated with M. bovis and M. tuberculosis infections.
A mycobacterial infection was suspected in the dog of this report based on acid-fast staining of organisms in macrophages obtained from liver aspirates and buffy-coat preparations.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of a buffy-coat preparation identified M. avium.
Source: James F. Naughton, Katrina L. Mealey, K. Jane Wardrop, J. Lindsay Oaks, Daniel S. Bradway (2005): Systemic Mycobacterium avium Infection in a Dog Diagnosed by Polymerase Chain Reaction Analysis of Buffy Coat. In: Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 41:128-132 (2005)
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