Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with mouth nodules diagnosed with feline leprosy from Greece
By Courtin, Francois et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2007·Veterinary Clinic, France·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A case of feline leprosy caused by Mycobacterium lepraemurium originating from the island of Kythira (Greece): diagnosis and treatment.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 2-year-old female domestic shorthair cat was brought to the vet with painful, ulcerated lumps around her mouth. After testing, the vet diagnosed her with feline leprosy caused by a specific bacteria called Mycobacterium lepraemurium. The treatment involved surgery and a long course of antibiotics, including clofazimine and clarithromycin. Thankfully, the cat made a full recovery and is now healthy again.
People also search for: cat mouth lumps treatment · feline leprosy symptoms · antibiotics for cat skin infection
Abstract
A 2-year-old, 4 kg, healthy, domestic shorthair female cat presented with ulcerated subcutaneous nodules on the commissures of its mouth. The cat was negative for feline leukaemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus. Skin mycobacteriosis was diagnosed after detection of numerous acid-fast bacilli in Ziehl Neelsen-stained smears from the ulcers. Feline leprosy was suspected following preliminary polymerase chain reaction results: positive for Mycobacterium genus but negative for Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium complexes. Mycobacterium lepraemurium was later identified following DNA sequence analysis of the 5' end of the 16S rRNA gene and the 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer region. Microscopic lesions consisted of pyogranulomas containing mainly large foamy macrophages with 10-100 intra-cellular acid-fast bacilli per field. The cat was cured after surgery and a 14-week course of clofazimine (30 mg daily) and clarithromycin (50 mg twice daily).
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17239641/