First cases of pulmonary tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis
A re-emerging zoonosis in Uruguay
Abstract
The study describes the first three cases of pulmonary tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis in Uruguay. One of the infected people had a history of being in contact with zoo animals, another one, an HIV carrier, was in daily contact with meat by-products, and the third one had a history of drinking unpasteurized milk. Molecular biology techniques and conventional bacteriology enabled the confirmation of the etiology in all cases. In spite of the systematic search for M. bovis in the clinical samples analysed in our laboratories, no isolation of Mycobacterium bovis from human cases had been reported until then. The presence of this microorganism in our veterinary samples during the last decade indicates we may continue to see new cases in immune competent people and HIV/AIDS patients. A history of close contact with animals, particularly bovines, with meat by-products, or both should warn clinicians about the possibility of this zoonosis, whose treatment should exclude pyrazinamide.
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