Multidrug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium complex species in Egyptian farm animals, veterinarians, and farm and abattoir workers

• Published in: Veterinary World Vol. 13; no. 10; pp. 2150 - 2155
• Main Authors: Abdelsadek, Hossam A, Sobhy, Hassan M, Mohamed, Kh F, Hekal, Sahar H A, Dapgh, Amany N, Hakim, Ashraf S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Veterinary World 01-10-2020
• Subjects: Abattoirs; Amikacin; antituberculous drugs; BCG; Ciprofloxacin; Clarithromycin; Cow's milk; delta egypt; Drugs; Ethambutol; Farms; Isoniazid; Kanamycin; Livestock; Lymph nodes; Lymphatic system; Microbial drug resistance; Milk; Multidrug resistance; multidrug-resistant tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; mycobacterium tuberculosis complex; Polymerase chain reaction; Pyrazinamide; Rifampin; Sputum; Tuberculin; Tuberculosis; Veterinary surgeons; Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex; multidrug-resistant tuberculosis; antituberculous drugs; Delta Egypt
• ISSN: 0972-8988; 2231-0916
• DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2020.2150-2155

complex (
) is a group of mycobacteria that are important human pathogens.
and
cause serious chronic life-threatening disease and also significant economic losses in both production and remedication. Recently, emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) complex has generated global recognition of the need for rapid and sensitive diagnosis and development of new treatments. The current study illustrates the isolation/identification of
strains in specimens obtained from cows and humans by conventional and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) techniques. Further, the study assesses sensitivity to antituberculosis drugs in isolated MDR strains.
A total of 1464 samples from cattle (1285 raw milk and 179 lymph node), and 149 human sputum samples, were collected from farms and abattoirs in Delta Egypt. Conventional methods (culture and Ziehl-Neelsen staining) were implemented as were RT-PCR using
universal DNA. The effect of some antituberculosis drugs on obtained isolates was assayed using drug susceptibility proportion and qualitative suspension techniques.
The MBTC detection rate using the culture method was higher than for Ziehl-Neelsen staining; raw cow milk (2.56 vs. 1.63%), lymph nodes (51.59 vs. 48.04%), and human sputum (5.36 vs. 4.02%). A total of 135 isolates were obtained. Application of RT-PCR detected 138 isolates from the same set of samples. MBTC isolates were resistant to first-line antituberculosis drugs, such as pyrazinamide, isoniazid, rifampicin, and ethambutol by 78.5, 59.3, 40.7, and 31.8%, respectively, and could be highly resistant to kanamycin (82.3%) and amikacin (80.7%). However, isolates remained sensitive to ciprofloxacin (71.1%) and clarithromycin (73.3%) as second-line drugs.
There is a growing risk for isolation of MDR-TB from raw milk and lymph nodes of field tuberculin positive cattle as well as sputum of veterinarians and workers existed in farms and abattoirs. PCR-based techniques have become the gold standard for the identification of mycobacterial species, showing high efficiency compared to bacteriological and microscopic examination. Application of the first- and second-line antituberculosis drugs in combination could counter the MDR-TB concern once infections are identified.