Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium infection in a lineolated parakeet (Bolborhynchus lineola)

Lee, So-Young; Yoo, Jong-Hyun; Yoon, Jang-Won; Kim, Dae-Young; Cho, Ho-Seong; Park, Chul; Park, Hee-Myung

Korean Journal of Veterinary Research 2010;50(1):59-62.

So-Young Lee¹, Jong-Hyun Yoo², Jang-Won Yoon³, Dae-Young Kim⁴, Ho-Seong Cho⁴, Chul Park⁵, Hee-Myung Park²

¹Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University
²Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, and BK21 Basic & Diagnostic Veterinary Specialist Program for Animal Diseases, Konkuk University
³Department of Microbiology and Research Institute for Translational System Biomics, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine
⁴Veterinary Medicine Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri
⁵Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California

Abstract

A 2-year-old lineolated parakeet (Bolborhynchus lineola) was presented with abdominal distention and respiratory distress for two months. The bird was poorly fleshed and the liver was enlarged on coelomic palpation. Plain and contrast radiographic examinations exhibited hepatomegaly and distended intestinal loop, which compromised the air sacs. Multifocal hyperechogenecity was observed in the liver on ultrasonography. Postmortem gross examination revealed hepatomegaly with numerous pinpoint tan foci in the hepatic parenchyma and distended small intestine filled with adult ascarids. Microscopically, granulomatous hepatitis and enteritis infected by intrahistiocytic acid-fast bacilli were evident. Polymerase chain reaction indicated that the acid-fast bacilli were Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium.

Key Words: avian mycobacteriosis, Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium, parakeet