Molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium and Mycobacterium intracellulare in captive birds.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium and Mycobacterium intracellulare are primary causes of mycobacteriosis in captive birds throughout the world, but little is known about how they are transmitted. To define the local epidemiology of infection, we strain-typed 70 M. avium subsp. avium and 15 M. intracellulare culture isolates obtained over a 4-year period from captive birds. Typing was performed using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) PCR, amplified fragment length polymorphic (AFLP) fragment analyses, and for a subset of isolates, DNA sequencing of a segment of the 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer region. Six strain clusters comprising 43 M. avium subsp. avium, isolates were identified; 42 isolates had unique typing patterns, including all M. intracellulare isolates. Phylo-geographical analyses using RAPD and AFLP fingerprints and animal confinement histories showed no correlation between housing of infected birds and mycobacterial strain-type, except for two animals. The diversity of M. avium subsp. avium and M. intracellulare isolates and minimal evidence for bird-to-bird transmission suggest that environmental reservoirs may be important sources of infection in captivity.

Systemic disease in Vaal rhebok (Pelea capreolus) caused by mycoplasmas in the mycoides cluster.

In the winter of 2002, an outbreak of mycoplasma infection in Vaal rhebok (Pelea capreolus) originating from South Africa occurred 15 weeks after their arrival in San Diego, Calif. Three rhebok developed inappetence, weight loss, lethargy, signs related to pulmonary or arthral dysfunction, and sepsis. All three rhebok died or were euthanized. Primary postmortem findings were erosive tracheitis, pleuropneumonia, regional cellulitis, and necrotizing lymphadenitis. Mycoplasmas were detected in numerous tissues by electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and PCR. The three deceased rhebok were coinfected with ovine herpesvirus-2, and two animals additionally had a novel gammaherpesvirus. However, no lesions indicative of herpesvirus were seen microscopically in any animal. The rheboks' mycoplasmas were characterized at the level of the 16S rRNA gene, the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region, and the fructose biphosphate aldolase gene. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was carried out to address the possibility of infection with multiple strains. Two of the deceased rhebok were infected with a single strain of Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum, and the third animal had a single, unique strain most closely related to Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides large-colony. A PCR survey of DNA samples from 46 other ruminant species demonstrated the presence of several species of mycoplasmas in the mycoides cluster, including a strain of M. capricolum subsp. capricolum identical to that found in two of the rhebok. These findings demonstrate the pervasiveness of mycoplasmas in the mycoides cluster in small ruminants and the potential for interspecies transmission and disease when different animal taxa come in contact.