<i>Mycobacterium microti</i>
            Infection (Vole Tuberculosis) in Wild Rodent Populations

Cavanagh, Rachel D.; Begon, Michael; Bennett, Malcolm J.; Ergon, Torbjørn; Graham, Isla M.; Haas, Petra E. W. de; Hart, C. A.; Koedam, M.A.; Kremer, Kristin; Lambin, Xavier; Roholl, P. J. M.; Soolingen, Dick van

doi:10.1128/jcm.40.9.3281-3285.2002

Cited by 87 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Infected voles can live for as long as 52 weeks, and the author comments on how extensive tuberculosis can be without producing obvious symptoms. Although we cannot be certain that all the organisms described in the 1946 manuscript are M. microti, although some strains were shown to have distinctive M. microti spoligotype patterns and deletion profiles in later studies (1,5,25), the distinctive cellular morphology when viewed microscopically supports this identification. The author mentions that growth is very slow and variable upon primary isolation and is substantially faster after repeated subculture and also reports on a number of studies using live strains of the vole bacillus as a vaccine in guinea pigs, cattle, and humans and suggests that the vole bacillus does not cause progressive disease in these animals unless given in large doses (43).…”

mentioning

confidence: 72%

“…We therefore suggest that cats and the mammals other than voles listed in Table 1 are acting as a spillover host for disease present in a wildlife maintenance host; the geographical localization of M. microti genotypes would be preserved by the distribution of infection in the wildlife maintenance host. The most likely maintenance host for M. microti in Great Britain is the field vole (Microtus agrestis), which has been reported as having a high prevalence of the disease in several studies (3,5,6,43).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The distribution of vole tuberculosis in Great Britain was revisited 60 years after Wells by Cavanagh et al (5), who trapped small rodents in Northumberland (Keilder Forest) and Cheshire, United Kingdom. In the part of the Kielder Forest study that included dissection, the prevalence of characteristic tuberculous lesions was recorded as being as high as 21%.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Mycobacterium microti : More Diverse than Previously Thought

Crawshaw²,

et al. 2009

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Mycobacterium microti is a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex of bacteria. This species was originally identified as a pathogen of small rodents and shrews and was associated with limited diversity and a much reduced spoligotype pattern. More recently, specific deletions of chromosomal DNA have been shown to define this group of organisms, which can be identified by the absence of chromosomal region RD1 mic . We describe here the molecular characteristics of 141 strains of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolated in Great Britain over a 14-year period. All strains have characteristic loss of some spoligotype spacers and characteristic alleles at the ETR-E and ETR-F variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) loci, and a sample of these strains was deleted for regions RD7, RD9, and RD1 mic but intact for regions RD4 and RD12. We therefore identified these strains as M. microti and show that they have much more diverse spoligotype patterns and VNTR types than previously thought. The most common source of these strains was domestic cats, and we show that the molecular types of M. microti are geographically localized in the same way that molecular types of Mycobacterium bovis are geographically localized in cattle in the United Kingdom. We describe the pathology of M. microti infection in cats and suggest that the feline disease is a spillover from a disease maintained in an unknown wild mammal, probably field voles. The location of the cats with M. microti infection suggests that they do not overlap geographically with the strains of Mycobacterium bovis in Great Britain.In 1946, Wells described a form of tuberculosis found in over 20% of 4,309 voles (Microtus agrestis) collected between 1936 and 1942 from many sites dispersed throughout Great Britain (43). In the same study, over 10% of 223 bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus, now known as Myodes glareolus [18]), over 2% of 175 wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), and 1.5% of 550 shrews (Sorex araneus) were also found to be infected with tuberculosis (43). In all cases, acid-fast bacteria were demonstrated in a stained smear or in culture. For voles with only a single observed site of infection, the lymph glands draining the intestinal tract were most commonly infected; the lungs were a primary site in 11% of animals. The author also describes a second type of disease pathology, an infiltration of the subcutaneous tissue with a white gritty substance full of acid-fast bacteria; in these animals, the skin frequently ulcerates over these masses, and the lungs, liver, and spleen are heavily infected. Transmission of organisms from both wild-caught infected voles and experimentally infected voles kept together with laboratory-bred animals was demonstrated. Infected voles can live for as long as 52 weeks, and the author comments on how extensive tuberculosis can be without producing obvious symptoms. Although we cannot be certain that all the organisms described in the 1946 manuscript are M. microti, although some strains were shown to have distinctive M. micr...

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mentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mycobacterium microti : More Diverse than Previously Thought

Crawshaw²,

et al. 2009

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“…Numerous pathogens associated with rodents are not included in the IUCN guidelines; for example, E. multilocularis has been reported in Eurasian beavers in Switzerland (Janovski et al, 2002), but not on mainland Norway, and in one captive beaver in the United Kingdom (Barlow et al, 2011). Mycobacterium microti (Cavanagh et al, 2002), cowpox virus (Carslake et al, 2005), Cryptosporidium parvum (Quy et al, 1999), Eimeria spp. (Lewis and Ball, 1983), Bartonella (Birtles et al, 2001), Toxoplasma (Hay et al, 1983), and Leptospira (Salt and Little, 1977) have all been reported in UK wild rodent populations, and thus released beavers may become exposed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ESTABLISHMENT OF A HEALTH SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM FOR REINTRODUCTION OF THE EURASIAN BEAVER (CASTOR FIBER) INTO SCOTLAND

Goodman¹,

Girling

Pizzi

et al. 2012

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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ABSTRACT:In 2009 and 2010 16 Norwegian Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) were reintroduced to Knapdale, Scotland as part of a 5-yr reintroduction trial (Scottish Beaver Trial). Despite numerous reintroduction programs throughout Europe there is no published information concerning recommended health surveillance during beaver reintroduction and only one publication describing causes of mortality. We describe the establishment of a health surveillance program based on International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and governmental guidelines, and report preliminary results based on the fecal and blood samples following the completion of the first stage of reintroduction. Animals underwent at least one general anesthetic to allow collection of fecal and blood samples and a thorough clinical examination. No bacterial enteric pathogens such as Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., or Yersinia pseudotuberculosis were isolated, nor were Giardia spp. or Cryptosporidium spp. However, numerous helminths including Travassosius rufus and Stichorchis subtriquetrus were detected. Five animals were positive for Leptospira antibodies. This included Leptospira saxkoebing, Leptospira canicola, Leptospira copenhageni, Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae, Leptospira autumnalis, and Leptospira javanica. The highest loss of animals (20%) was during the statutory 6-mo rabies quarantine period. No common cause of death was determined. The rabies quarantine conditions were waived for four remaining animals, three of which were introduced to the wild successfully. The authors recommend the shortest possible quarantine period when introducing beavers, but allowing for the minimum recommended IUCN 35 days to allow for implementation of the initial stage of the health surveillance program, examination of animals, sample collection, and processing.

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“…This species was originally described as the cause of tuberculosis (TB) in wild rodents. Indeed, field voles (Microtus agrestis), bank voles (Myodes glareolus), wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), and shrews (Sorex araneus), which are particularly susceptible to M. microti infection, constitute its natural reservoirs (1). However, an increasing number of cases have also been reported in domestic and wild mammals (2), such as cats (3,4), pigs (5), European wild boar (Sus scrofa) (6), ferrets (Mustela putorius), badgers (Meles meles) (4), New World camelids (Lama glama and Vicugna pacos) (4), squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) (7), meerkats (Suricata suricatta) (8), and a dog (9).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%