Clinical findings and treatment of disseminated ‘Mycobacterium avium subspecies hominissuis’ infection in a domestic cat

Abstract

A cat was referred because of diffuse parenchymal lung disease. Close examinations revealed a swollen abdominal lymph node and multiple nodules of the liver. Mycobacterium avium subspecies hominissuis infection was confirmed by culture and single nucleotide polymorphism analysis of samples recovered from the liver and bronchoalveolar lavage. After administration of combination antibiotics for 6 months, culture results were negative. Though atonic seizures were observed during the treatment, it disappeared after isoniazid discontinuation and pyridoxal phosphate administration. On day 771 of illness, no clinical signs, lung diseases, or obvious swelling of lymph nodes was observed. This is the first report to confirm Mycobacterium avium subspecies hominissuis infection in cats through gene analysis and to completely cure it with combination antibiotics.