New spoligotyping pattern of Mycobacterium bovis isolates from farm animals in Turkey [Türkiye’deki çiftlik hayvanlarından izole edilen Mycobacterium bovis izolatlarına ait yeni spoligotiplendirme paterni]

Mycobacterial diseases still have a global impact on human and animal health as well as being the cause of great economic losses. Mycobacterium bovis is the most important tuberculosis agent in animal husbandry, especially in cattle farming. This bacterium also plays a significant role in human infections as it is the second most important tuberculosis agent after Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this work, internal organ samples of four cattle and two goats from six slaughterhouses in the Aegean region (Aydın, Manisa, Muğla, İzmir provinces) presented to the laboratory for tuberculosis diagnosis between 2010-2015 were used. Histopathologic examination and inoculations into Lowenstein-Jensen and BACTEC MGIT 960 liquid media were carried out from these samples. Genotypes of the isolates were determined by spoligotyping. All six isolates were M. bovis SIT 685, BOV. This genotype was previously reported from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France, Ireland and Great Britain at a low frequency and is considered to be uncommon throughout the world. However, this pattern (SIT 685, BOV) from M. bovis isolated from farm animals in the Aegean region of Turkey shows homology with M. bovis isolates’spoligotyping results from humans in the same region. This result might indicate a possible animal to human transmission of M. bovis. On the other hand, this spoligotype (SIT 685, BOV) was also reported from human samples in the Marmara region of Turkey. Therefore, it can be assumed that this genotype affects a significant portion of the human population in Turkey. As a result of this work, SIT 685, BOV of M. bovis which causes disease in farm animals in Turkey, is reported for the first time, data possibly strengthening the zoonotic aspect of the agent is acquired and attention is drawn to the prevalence of M. bovis SIT 685, BOV in people in Turkey. © 2017, Chartered Inst. of Building Services Engineers. All rights reserved