Articles

Outbreak of avian mycobacteriosis in flocks of domestic pigeons: An epidemiological approach

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Pigeons are extensively kept for homing and racing purposes in Iran. The main objective of this study was to investigate dissemination of M. avium subsp. avium (MAA) in pigeon aviaries in Tabriz, North-western Iran.
Materials and Methods: Postmortem pathologic specimens from thirty-nine out of 140 birds collected from private flocks (n = 3), were subjected to bacterial culture out of which 3-4 mycobacterial isolates were recovered.
Results: Applying a five-PCR diagnostic algorithm targeting short but definitive stretches of 16S rRNA and RV0577 genes, IS6110, IS901 and IS1245 genomic loci, proved all the isolates were MAA. They were either IS901+/IS1245+ (n = 22) or IS901+/IS1245- (n = 12).
When four healthy cattle sensitized against Mycobacterium bovis AN5 and Mycobacterium avium D4 were tuberculinated, the results confirmed the observed skin reactions against bovine tuberculin in animals sensitized with M. avium were large enough to complicate test interpretation.
Conclusion: We believe the extent of such epidemiological impact deserves further investigation if progress in control of bovine tuberculosis is intended.

Mijs W, de Haas P, Rossau R, Van der Laan T, Rigouts L, Portaels F, et al. Molecular evidence to support a proposal to reserve the designation Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium for bird-type isolates and ‘M. avium subsp. hominissuis’ for the human/porcine type of M. avium. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2002; 52 (Pt 5):1505-1518.

Romano MI, Amadio A, Bigi F, Klepp L, Etchechoury I, Llana MN, et al. Further analysis of VNTR and MIRU in the genome of Mycobacterium avium complex, and application to molecular epidemiology of isolates from South America. Vet Microbiol 2005; 110 (3-4): 221-37.

Pavlik I, Svastova P, Bartl J, Dvorska L, Rychlik I.Relationship between IS901 in the Mycobacterium avium complex strains isolated from birds, animals, humans and environment and virulence for poultry. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 2000; 7: 212-217.

Dvorska L, Bull TJ, Bartos M, Matlova L, Svastova P, Weston RT, et al. A standardized restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method for typing Mycobacterium avium isolates links IS901 with virulence for birds. J Microbiol Methods 2003; 55: 11-27.

Hoop RK, Böttger EC, Pfyffer GE. Etiological agents of mycobacterioses in pet birds between 1986 and 1995. J Clin Microbiol 1996; 34: 991-992.

Pai HH, Chen WC, Peng CF. Isolation of non-tuberculous mycobacteria from hospital cockroaches (Periplaneta americana). J Hosp Infect 2003; 53: 224-228.

Gray PL, Saggese MD, Phalen DN, Tizard I. Humoral response to Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium in naturally infected ring-neck doves (Streptopelia risoria). Vet Immunol Immunopathol 2008; 125(3-4): 216-224.

Pavlik I, Horvathova A, Dvorska L, Bartl J, Svastova P, Du Maine R, et al. Standardisation of restriction fragment length polymorphism for Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. J Microbiol Methods 1999; 38: 155-167.

Ikonomopoulos J, Gazouli M, Pavlik I, Bartos M, Zacharatos P, Xylouri E, et al. Comparative evaluation of PCR assays for the robust molecular detection ofMycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. J Microbiol Methods. 2004; 56: 315-321.

Kunze ZM, Wall S, Appelberg R, Silva MT, Portales F, McFadden JJ. IS901, a new member of a widespreadclass of atypical insertion sequences, is associated with pathogenicity in Mycobacterium avium. Mol Microbiol. 1991; 5: 2265-2272.

Guerrero C, Bernasconi C, Burki D, Bodmer T, Telenti A. A novel insertion element from Mycobacterium avium, IS1245, is a specific target for analysis of strain relatedness. J Clin Microbiol 1995; 33: 304-303.

Van Soolingen D, Bauer J, Lea˘o S, Pavlik I, Vincent V, Rastogi N, et al. IS1245 restriction fragment length polymorphism typing of Mycobacterium avium isolates: proposal for standardization. J Clin Microbiol 1998;36: 3051-3054.

Piao Z, Shibayama K, Mori S, Wachino J, Arakawa Y.A novel insertion sequence, IS1642, of Mycobacterium avium, which forms long direct repeats of variable length. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2009; 291: 216-221.

Bartos M, Svastova P, Dvorska L,Weston RT, Pavlik I.2001. Mycobacterium avium insertion element hot spot flanking region FR300. Unpublished. Access Number AF369936.

Ichiyama S, Suzuki K. Clinical application of testing methods on acid-fast bacteria. Kekkaku. 2005; 80: 95-111.

Matthews PR, McDiarmid A.The production in bovine calves of a disease resembling paratuberculosis with a Mycobacterium spp. isolated from a woodpigeon (Columba palumbus L). Vet Rec 1979; 104: 286.

Tanaka C, Miyazawa T, Watarai M, Ishiguro N. Bacteriological survey of feces from feral pigeons in Japan. J Vet Med Sci 2005; 67: 951-953.

JohansenT B, Agdestein A, Olsen I, Nilsen SF, Holstad G, Djønne B. Biofilm formation by Mycobacterium avium isolates originating from humans, swine and birds. BMC Microbiol 2009; 9: 159.

Hejlicek K, Treml F. Epidemiology of bovine Mycobacterium avium infections. Veterinarstvi 1995;45: 351-354.

Goyal M, Lawn S, Afful B, Acheampong J W, Griffin G, Shaw R. Spoligotyping in molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in Ghana. J Infect 1999; 38: 171-175.

Dvorska L, Bartos M, Ostadal O, Kaustova J, Matlova L, Pavlik I. IS1311 and IS1245 restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses, serotypes, and drug susceptibilities of Mycobacterium avium complex isolates obtained from a human immunodeficiency virus- negative patient. J Clin Microbiol 2002; 40: 3712-3719.

Ikonomopoulos J, Fragkiadaki E, Liandris E, Sotirakoglou K, Xylouri E, Gazouli M. Estimation of the spread of pathogenic mycobacteria in organic broiler farms by the polymerase chain reaction. Vet Microbiol 2009; 133: 278-282.

Huard R C, Lazzarini L C, Butler W R, Van Soolingen D, Ho J L. PCR-based method to differentiate the subspecies of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex on the basis of genomic deletions. J Clin Microbiol 2003; 41: 1637-50.

Bougiouklis P, Brellou G, Fragkiadaki E, Iordanidis P, Vlemmas I, Georgopoulou I Outbreak of avian mycobacteriosis in a flock of two-year-old domestic pigeons (Columba livia f. domestica). Avian Diseases 2005; 49: 442-445.

Pond C L, Rush H G. Infection of white carneaux pigeons (Columbia livia) with Mycobacterium avium. Lab Anim Sci 1981; 31: 196-9.

Hejlicek K, Treml F. Animal sources and ways of spreading Mycobacterium avium (in Czech with Englishabstract). Epidemiologie Mikrobiologie Imunologie 1997; 46: 115-118.

Saggese MD, Tizard I, Phalen DN. Mycobacteriosis in naturally infected ring-neck doves (Streptopelia risoria): investigation of the association between feather colour and susceptibility to infection, disease and lesions type.Avian Pathol 2008; 37: 443-50.

Thegerström J, Marklund BI, Hoffner S, Axelsson- Olsson D, Kauppinen J, Olsen B. Mycobacterium avium with the bird type IS1245 RFLP profile is commonly found in wild and domestic animals, but rarely in humans. Scand J Infect Dis 2005; 37: 15-20.

Tell LA, Woods L, Cromie RL. Mycobacteriosis in birds. Rev Sci Tech 2001; 20: 180-203.

Ramis A, Ferrer L, Aranaz A, Liebana E, Mateos A, Dominguez L, et al. Mycobacterium genavense infection in canaries. Avian Dis 1996; 40: 246-251.

Files
IssueVol 2 No 4 (2010) QRcode
SectionArticles
Keywords
Mycobacterium avium complex pigeon mycobacteriosis PCR epidemiology
Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Bolfion M, Salehi M, Ashrafi Helan J, Soleimani K, Keshavarz R, Aref Pajoohi R, Mohammad Taheri M, Tadayon K, Mosavari N. Outbreak of avian mycobacteriosis in flocks of domestic pigeons: An epidemiological approach. Iran J Microbiol. 1;2(4):189-193.