Disseminated atypical Mycobacteriosis caused by Mycobacterium xenopi in a White-Faced Saki (Pithecia pithecia)

Abstract

A 15.5 year old male white-faced saki (Pithecia pithecia) was euthanized due to severe emaciation and an ultrasonographically suspected hepatic neoplasm. Postmortem examination revealed disseminated granulomatous inflammation affecting liver, pancreas, kidneys, heart, skin, and various lymph nodes. Mycobacteria were isolated from pulmonary lymph node and liver, identified as Mycobacterium (M.) xenopi a non-tuberculous mycobacterial species of human relevance especially in cases of underlying immunodeficiency. Subsequent characterization using ITS-sequencing and MLST-pattern analysis revealed that the isolate was identical with a Canadian strain of human origin indicating a high degree of conservation across countries and host species. This case represents to our knowledge the first report of a clinical M. xenopi infection in a host species not yet reported.

Keywords

• Mycobacterium xenopi
• non-human primate
• ITS-sequencing
• MLST-pattern