Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Panniculitis skin infection from Mycobacterium smegmatis in two
By Alander-Damsten, Y K et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2003·Pakila Veterinary Station·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Panniculitis, due to Mycobacterium smegmatis, in two Finnish cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Two Finnish cats were diagnosed with a skin infection called pyogranulomatous panniculitis, caused by a type of bacteria known as Mycobacterium smegmatis. One cat had a misdiagnosis that delayed proper treatment, but after identifying the correct infection, the cat has been monitored for over seven years. Although the disease is chronic, the cat is not showing any serious health issues. Various antibiotics were tried to manage the infection, but there were some side effects noted from one of the medications.
People also search for: cat skin infection treatment · Mycobacterium smegmatis in cats · chronic skin problems in cats
Abstract
Pyogranulomatous panniculitis due to infection by Mycobacterium smegmatis was diagnosed in two cats in Finland, a country with a rather cold climate. The diagnosis was confirmed by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, which gave a perfect match with the M smegmatis strain ATCC 19420. Gene sequencing makes it possible to distinguish M smegmatis from closely related mycobacteria such as M goodii sp.nov. Diagnosing this entity seems to be a question of having a high index of suspicion. The appearance of the disease as well as sampling is described in detail. In our first case an initial erroneous diagnosis of Nocardia species considerably delayed our arriving at the right diagnosis. The first patient has now been followed for more than 7 years. Her disease is chronic, but she is not systemically affected. Several antimicrobials were tried. Probable side effects of enrofloxacin medication are described.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12547619/