Mihaljević Željko, Reil Irena, Habuš Josipa, Štritof Zrinka, Naletilić Šimun, Jurkić Krsteska Gabrijela, Kovač Tajna, Zdelar-Tuk Maja, Duvnjak Sanja, Špičić Silvio
Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska Cesta 143, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Pathogens. 2024 Apr 16;13(4):328. doi: 10.3390/pathogens13040328.
Ferrets are highly susceptible to a wide range of mycobacteria, mainly , , and . Therefore, ferrets pose a risk of transmission of mycobacteriosis, especially zoonotically relevant tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to describe the findings of mycobacteriosis in a pet ferret and emphasize its zoonotic potential. A pet ferret had a history of weight loss, apathy, hyporexia, and hair loss. Abdominal ultrasound revealed splenomegaly with two solid masses and cystic lesions of the liver. Fine-needle aspiration cytology revealed numerous acid-fast bacilli in epithelioid cells, thus leading to the suspicion of mycobacterial infection. Because of its poor general condition, the ferret was euthanized. Necropsy examination revealed generalized granulomatous lymphadenitis, pneumonia, myocarditis, splenitis, and hepatitis. Histologically, in all organs, there were multifocal to coalescing areas of inflammatory infiltration composed of epithelioid macrophages, a low number of lymphocytes, and plasma cells, without necrosis nor multinucleated giant cells. Ziehl-Neelsen staining detected the presence of numerous (multibacillary) acid-fast bacteria, which were PCR-typed as . This is the first study showing the antimicrobial susceptibility testing of in veterinary medicine, describing the resistance to doxycycline. Overall, our results could facilitate further diagnosis and provide guidelines for the treatment protocols for such infections.
雪貂对多种分枝杆菌高度易感，主要是 、 和 。因此，雪貂存在传播分枝杆菌病的风险，尤其是具有人畜共患病相关性的结核病。本研究的目的是描述一只宠物雪貂的分枝杆菌病的检查结果，并强调其人畜共患病潜力。一只宠物雪貂有体重减轻、冷漠、食欲减退和脱毛的病史。腹部超声显示脾脏肿大，有两个实性肿块以及肝脏的囊性病变。细针穿刺细胞学检查发现上皮样细胞中有大量抗酸杆菌，因此怀疑有分枝杆菌感染。由于其总体状况较差，该雪貂被实施安乐死。尸检发现全身性肉芽肿性淋巴结炎、肺炎、心肌炎、脾炎和肝炎。组织学上，在所有器官中，都有由上皮样巨噬细胞、少量淋巴细胞和浆细胞组成的多灶性至融合性炎症浸润区域，无坏死也无多核巨细胞。齐-尼氏染色检测到大量（多菌型）抗酸菌的存在，经聚合酶链反应分型为 。这是第一项在兽医学中展示对 进行药敏试验的研究，描述了对强力霉素的耐药性。总体而言，我们的结果有助于进一步诊断，并为此类感染的治疗方案提供指导。
