Tuberculous sialoadenitis in a badger

Abstract

Extract

Tuberculous lesions in the skin of carnivorous species such as the mustelids have often been associated with the contamination of bite wounds inflicted during intra-species conflict (Muirhead et al., 1974; Cheeseman et al., 1988; Clifton-Hadley et al., 1993; Nolan and Wilesmith, 1994; Ragg et al., 1995; Lugton et al., 1997). A strong association between tuberculous tonsillitis and recovery of Mycobacterium bovis from the oral cavity of ferrets (Mustela furo) was reported by Lugton et al. (1997). They believed that the recovery of M. bovis from the pharynx was enhanced by the act of swabbing which could damage the oral mucosal epithelium and dislodge infected mucosal macrophages. The authors speculated that tubercle bacilli could enter the oral cavity through disrupted tonsillar epithelium, although they found no evidence of epithelial damage. It is also well established that in many species, infected pulmonary secretions reach the oral cavity and contaminate saliva (Jennings, 1949).