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Analysis of 18FDG PET/CT Imaging as a Tool for Studying Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection and Treatment in Non-human Primates
Published on: September 5, 2017
Possible human-avian transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a green-winged macaw (Ara chloroptera)
Hanspeter W Steinmetz1, Corinne Rutz, Richard K Hoop
1Division of Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstr. 260, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
This report describes a case of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in a green-winged macaw (Ara chloroptera), confirmed by microbiologic and pathologic diagnostics, and notes a possible human-avian transmission. Clinical signs included cutaneous swellings, profound leukocytosis, and signs of osteomyelitis in the long bones. Proliferation consisted of several nodules with small greenish-caseous foci in cross-section and revealed a severe granulomatous inflammation with intralesional acid-fast rods. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated from subcutaneous nodules and biochemically confirmed. The disease in avian species is of zoonotic importance.
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