Infections of cats attributable to slow growing or ‘non-culturable’ mycobacteria

Abstract

Cats are susceptible to a range of different mycobacterial infections. Tuberculosis has not been seen in domestic species living in Australia (including the cat) for decades. Mycobacterial infections most commonly develop in cats subsequent to penetrating injuries (typically inflicted by other cats) that become contaminated with soil or dirt. Most of these infections are caused by rapidly growing mycobacteria, especially Mycobacterium smegmatis and related species, although occasionally other species such as Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium ulcerans are involved. In this report we briefly review infections caused by some novel mycobacterial species, which are either impossible or very difficult to grow in vitro using the usual range of liquid and solid media available in reference laboratories. Our understanding of these infections, sometimes referred to as ‘feline leprosy-like syndromes’, has increased greatly since the application of molecular techniques and the systematic investigation of affected cats.