Other Mycobacterial Infections in Livestock and Wildlife in Tanzania
There is a large variety of non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) species, some of which have the potential of causing diseases in animals and humans (Mwikuma et al. 2015; Dumez et al.
2009; Mdegela et al. 2004; Hoefsloot et al. 2013; Asiimwe et al. 2013; Makondo et al. 2014; Mwikuma et al. 2015; Shojaei et al. 2011). In Tanzania, isolation from indigenous cattle and wildlife species rendered a large diversity of NTM species including M. simiae, M. confluentis, M. neoaurum, M. nonchromogenicum, M. terrae, M. thermoresistibile, M. genavense, M. gilvum, M. intermedium, M. poriferae, M. spaghni, M. kansasii, M. gastri, M. indicus pranii, M. hiberniae, M. engbaekii, M. septicum, M. arupense, M. peregrinum, M. moriokaense, M. palustre, M. flavescens, M. goodii, M. gordonae, M. smegmatis, M. fortuitum, M. phlei, and M. avium intracellulare (Kazwala et al. 1998; Mdegela et al. 2004; Makondo et al. 2014; Katale et al. 2014). The isolation of NTMs from tuberculosis-like lesions in the absence of members of the MTC calls for further research to elucidate their actual role as a cause of disease.Mycobacterium intracellulare is known to cause disease, not only in immunocompromised but also in immunocompetent humans (Han et al. 2005). Mycobacterium intracellulare has been isolated from humans with both pulmonary and extrapulmonary forms of tuberculosis and from cattle and wildlife (Han et al. 2005; Nishiuchi et al. 2007). Mycobacterium kansasii is an exceedingly rare pathogen and has been isolated from lesions in the respiratory tract and associated lymph nodes in animals (Waters et al. 2006).
In summary, differences in the distribution of the various NTM species may partly determine the frequency and clinical manifestations of pulmonary disease in humans in various geographical locations (Hoefsloot et al. 2013). In Uganda, M. fortuitum was the most common cause of infection by the NTMs in human infants and adolescents in the rural areas (Asiimwe et al. 2013).
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