MYCOBACTERIOSIS IN PSITTACINES: A POTENTIAL FOR ZOONOTIC DISEASE?

Introduction. Mycobacterium spp. is still a problem, especially in ornamental fowl and pet birds and, for underlying the relevance of this infection in the latter, the authors report a retrospective study on mycobacteriosis in 123 psittacines.Materials and methods: These cases were analyzed by means of gross examination, histopathology (haematoxylin and eosin, Ziehl-Nielsen stain) and 23/123 cases through a Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Enzyme Digestion (PCR-RED) based upon Hsp65 gene for the identification of Mycobacterium (M.) species.Results: The most commonly affected species were Amazon parrots and grey-cheeked parakeets. Lesions were observed in liver, spleen, intestine, lungs, air sacs, conjunctiva, eyelid, skin, infraorbital sinus, heart, pancreas, kidney, testes, ovary and, only histologically, in adrenal, bone, skeletal muscle, thymus, brain, pancreas, synovium, parathyroids, thyroid, perineurium. Most commonly, infiltration of numerous epithelioid cells or foamy macrophages, with or without multinucleated cells, containing acid-fast bacilli, occurred. An interesting lesion was the granulomatous aortitis in a cockatiel concurrent with atherosclerosis. 20/23 cases submitted for molecular diagnosis were positive for M. genavense, 2/23 for M. avium and 1/23 had mixed infection.Conclusions: Mycobacterium genavense represents the primary agent of mycobacteriosis in psittacines and the potential for zoonosis must be considered, especially in immunocompromised persons, children and pet birds’ breeders.[...]