First Report of Mycobacterium bovis and Nocardia spp. Co-Infection in a Roan Antelope
Abstract
Nocardia spp. and Mycobacterium spp. are known etiological agents of granulomatous pulmonary infections in humans and animals; however, co-infections involving these pathogens have not previously been reported in veterinary medicine. This paper describes the first documented case of co-infection with Mycobacterium bovis and Nocardia spp. in a captive roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus). The animal was a 9-year-old female roan antelope from a safari park in northern Italy that died suddenly with a one-month history of weight loss. Post-mortem examination revealed severe, diffuse, chronic granulomatous pneumonia associated with fibrino-granulomatous pleuritis and granulomatous pericarditis. Histologically, multifocal to coalescing necrotizing granulomas were observed, with intralesional acid-fast bacteria. Microbiological culture and biomolecular analyses allowed the identification of M. bovis and Nocardia spp. in lung tissue samples. The Nocardia genome sequence was 98.5% similar to N. tengchongensis, a recently discovered species. The findings emphasize the importance of comprehensive diagnostic approaches in animal granulomatous lung disease. Mixed infections in captive wildlife represent a One Health concern, as the potential for zoonotic adaptation and transmission to humans cannot be excluded. Therefore, pathogen surveillance is of particular importance within zoological collections.
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BibTeX
@article{botta2026first,
title = {{First Report of Mycobacterium bovis and Nocardia spp. Co-Infection in a Roan Antelope}},
author = {Luca Botta and Matteo Cuccato and Neva Cormio and Veronica Crocchianti and Maria Goria and Emanuelle Bergeron and Delphine Mouniée and Veronica Rodriguez Nava and Frine Eleonora Scaglione},
journal = {Animals},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.3390/ani16111721},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05845680v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - First Report of Mycobacterium bovis and Nocardia spp. Co-Infection in a Roan Antelope
AU - Luca Botta
AU - Matteo Cuccato
AU - Neva Cormio
AU - Veronica Crocchianti
AU - Maria Goria
AU - Emanuelle Bergeron
AU - Delphine Mouniée
AU - Veronica Rodriguez Nava
AU - Frine Eleonora Scaglione
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/04
JO - Animals
DO - 10.3390/ani16111721
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05845680v1
AB - Nocardia spp. and Mycobacterium spp. are known etiological agents of granulomatous pulmonary infections in humans and animals; however, co-infections involving these pathogens have not previously been reported in veterinary medicine. This paper describes the first documented case of co-infection with Mycobacterium bovis and Nocardia spp. in a captive roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus). The animal was a 9-year-old female roan antelope from a safari park in northern Italy that died suddenly with a one-month history of weight loss. Post-mortem examination revealed severe, diffuse, chronic granulomatous pneumonia associated with fibrino-granulomatous pleuritis and granulomatous pericarditis. Histologically, multifocal to coalescing necrotizing granulomas were observed, with intralesional acid-fast bacteria. Microbiological culture and biomolecular analyses allowed the identification of M. bovis and Nocardia spp. in lung tissue samples. The Nocardia genome sequence was 98.5% similar to N. tengchongensis, a recently discovered species. The findings emphasize the importance of comprehensive diagnostic approaches in animal granulomatous lung disease. Mixed infections in captive wildlife represent a One Health concern, as the potential for zoonotic adaptation and transmission to humans cannot be excluded. Therefore, pathogen surveillance is of particular importance within zoological collections.
SN - 2076-2615
ER -