Current Perspectives onMycobacterium farcinogenesandMycobacterium senegalense, the Causal Agents of Bovine Farcy

Abstract

Mycobacterium farcinogenesandM. senegalenseare the causal agents of bovine farcy, a chronic, progressive disease of the skin and lymphatics of zebu cattle. The disease, which is prevalent mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, was in earlier times thought to be caused byNocardia farcinicaand can be described as one of the neglected diseases in cattle. Some aspects of the disease have been investigated during the last five decades but the major development had been in the bacteriological, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenetic aspects. Molecular analyses confirmed thatM. farcinogenesandM. senegalensefall in a subclade together withM. houstonenseandM. fortuitum. This subclade is closely related to the one accommodatingM. peregrinum,M. porcinum,M. septicum,M. neworleansense, andM. alvei. DNA probes were designed from 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer and could be used for the rapid diagnosis of bovine farcy. An ELISA assay has been evaluated for the serodiagnosis of the disease. The zoonotic potentials ofM. farcinogenesandM. senegalenseare unknown; few studies reported the isolation ofM. senegalenseandM. farcinogenesfrom human clinical sources but not from environmental sources or from other domestic or wild animals.