A mixed infection of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis and M. a. hominissuis in one red deer (Cervus elaphus) studied by IS900 BstEII and IS1245 PvuII RFLP analyses: a case report

Abstract

A mixed infection with <i>Mycobacterium avium</i> subsp. <i>paratuberculosis</i> (<i>MAP</i>) and <i>Mycobacterium avium</i> subsp. <i>hominissuis</i> (<i>MAH</i>) in one naturally infected red deer stag from a game park is described. The animal was euthanized because of symptoms of poor condition, weight loss and chronic diarrhoea. In spite of that, pathological lesions were observed only in the mesenteric lymph nodes, which were five to ten times enlarged with confluent caseous granulomas of 1 to 10 mm in size. Mycobacteria were isolated from all studied samples: a mixed infection of <i>MAP</i> and <i>MAH</i> was confirmed by multiplex PCR for the detection of IS <i>900</i>, IS<i>901</i>1, IS<i>1245</i> and <i>dnaJ</i>. MAP</i> of the identical IS<i>900</i> <i>BstE</i>II RFLP type C1 was isolated from all tissue samples and faeces. <i>MAH</i> isolates were detected in six examined tissue samples, including three mesenteric lymph nodes with caseous granulomas. Only minor differences in the band numbers and position of four different IS<i>1245</i> <i>Pvu</i>II RFLP patterns of <i>MAH</i> isolates were found. It follows from these results that red deer may potentially be infected with <i>MAH</i>, when a <i>MAP</i> infection is under way.