Infection of a Free-Living Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) with a Bacterium from the Mycobacterium kansasii Complex

Abstract

The most numerous group of bacteria in the genus Mycobacterium is the nontuberculous mycobacteria. Currently, over 200 species of bacteria have been classified as belonging to this group, of which approximately 30 are pathogenic to humans and animals. Mycobacterium kansasii complex numbers among these pathogenic species. The submandibular lymph nodes of a wild boar shot by a hunter were examined in order to confirm or exclude infection with bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium. In culture, a bacterial isolate was obtained after 12 days of incubation on Petragnani and Stonebrink media. A multiplex PCR clearly indicated that the isolate was a nontuberculous mycobacterium. The results of species identification attempts via both molecular biology methods and mass spectrometry confirmed that the isolated strain belonged to MKC. The described case of a wild boar infection with MKC is the first documented case in Poland and only the second in Europe, and in confirming the presence of this pathogen among free-living animals, this report implies that MKC is of great concern. Our research elucidates some specifics of wild boar mycobacteriosis and may be used to instill awareness in the public of the dangers of dressing hunt prey or consuming its meat in ignorance of safe procedures, which can contribute to the transmission of the pathogen to humans.

No evidence of <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> complex infection in samples from cervids in various regions of Poland

“…Following European Commission Decision 2009/342/EC of 23 April 2009, Poland was declared officially free of bovine TB. Despite this, new outbreaks of animal TB are continually noted in various species [18,19], and TB is recorded in a mean number of 79 cattle each year [20]. Among free-living animals in Poland, almost all reported cases of TB (less than 100 cases of TB caused by M.caprae during the last decade) have concerned European bison and wild boar inhabiting the Bieszczady Mountains (Podkarpackie Province, Southeast Poland).…”

Ten Years of Animal Tuberculosis Monitoring in Free-Living European Bison (Bison bonasus) in Poland

“…The first stage of the study was to examine the tissues to locate lesions suggestive of TB. The culture method performed in the NVRI was previously described by Radulski et al [ 16 ]. The prepared sediment was plated on Stonebrink and Petragniani media (Media Department, NVRI, Pulawy, Poland) in triplicate and then incubated at 37 °C ± 2 °C [ 17 ].…”

“…DNA isolation was performed using Genomic Mini AX Bacteria (A&A Biotechnology, Gdańsk, Poland) following the manufacturer’s instructions ( ; accessed on 4 March 2023). To determine whether a given strain belonged to tuberculous or nontuberculous mycobacteria, multiplex PCR was performed ( Table 1 , Table 2 and Table 3 ), as previously described [ 16 ]. In this method, two pairs of primers were used, which allowed for the simultaneous amplification of two different DNA fragments [ 18 ].…”

Mycobacterial Interspersed Repeat Unit–Variable Number Tandem Repeat Typing of Mycobacterium avium Strains Isolated from the Lymph Nodes of Free-Living Carnivorous Animals in Poland

“…Molecular analysis of NTM strains isolated from wildlife is rarely conducted [ 25 ] and according to our best knowledge, has never been undertaken in Poland. To date, the only described cases of NTM infection in wildlife in Poland occurred in three European bison ( Bison bonasus ), from which Mycobacterium xenopi and Mycobacterium avium were isolated [ 26 ], and in one wild boar, from which Mycobacterium kansasii complex was isolated [ 27 ]. In Poland, the occurrence of NTM was also studied in domesticated animals, namely pigs.…”