Bovine farcy

• Cause: first reported in France (1829) with initial causal agent believed to be Nocardia farcinica as described in 1888 by Edmond Nocard. However, more extensive, and advanced identification methods have now suggested that certainly most cases of bovine farcy are actually caused by Mycobacterium farcinogenes and Mycobacterium senegalense rather than Nocardia spp.
• Signs: small cutaneous nodules predominantly on the leg and neck regions. These may coalesce and can ulcerate. Occasionally, disease may present as respiratory distress or lesions on the udders.
• Diagnosis: late-stage diagnosis based on clinical signs is possible in the field if nodular skin lesions are present. Laboratory diagnosis can comprise microscopic observations, isolation using Lowenstein-Jensen media or agar, and 16S gene sequencing.
• Treatment: no commercial vaccine exists. Most M farcinogenes strains tested in vitro appear susceptible to doxycycline HCl, capreomycin sulfate, erythromycin, entamycin sulfate, viomycin sulfate. M senegalense strains were more resistant but were inhibited by gentamycin sulfate and minocycline HCl.
• Prognosis: poor.

• Chronic lymphangitis Ulcerative lymphangitis, lymphadenitis and cutaneous skin nodules.
• Occasionally lesions on udder.
• Occasionally pulmonary disease.

• Bovine farcy is usually associated with tropical and sub-tropical climates and has been reported in at least 19 countries within Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

• Bovine farcy affects all age of cattle, but visible skin lesions tend to only be visible on older cattle greater than 2 years of age.

• Widely reported in Zebu cattle, however this is more likely to be associated with the breeds found in the affected areas, rather than breed predisposition to disease.

• Few reports exist detailing the zoonotic potential but there is limited evidence that both Mycobacterium farcinogenes and M senegalense can cause infections in people. There are no reports of bovine farcy in wild or other domestic animals.

• Bovine farcy is not listed of importance to the World Organisation of Animal Health (WOAH) as the disease does not meet the criteria for spread, morbidity and mortality. However, economic impacts are expected due to damaged cattle hides and rejection of meat if pulmonary form is found during meat inspection (Lymphadenitis resembles bovine tuberculosis lesions Tuberculosis).

• Ubiquitously found in the environment, yet the route of infection and transmission are not understood. Infection may be through wounds created by course vegetation and/or via biting arachnids such as ticks Ticks: overview.

General

• Geographical location: historically bovine farcy has existed in a belt across sub-Saharan Africa; extending in the east to include India, Sri Lanka and Sumatra, and extending in the west to Latin America and the West Indies.

• Lymphocutaneous bovine farcy: following infection, the causal agent localizes in subcutaneous tissue leading to cellulitis which then spreads lymphatically to lymph nodes. Firm and painless lumps develop on dorsal subcutaneous tissue which can breach the skin forming sinuses which leak thick, yellow/greyish pus.
• Other forms of bovine farcy may include pulmonary farcy whereby respiratory stress with nodular lesions in the lungs indistinguishable from bovine tuberculosis are present or udder and scrotal farcy with lesions around these areas.

• Cattle are likely to become infected at all ages, however from infection to the presence of visible lesions can take years to develop.

• Epidemiological data links bovine farcy to adult cattle from pastoral tribes. This data is heavily biased as the existence of the disease is associated with government survey initiatives and local diagnostic capabilities and therefore is likely to be hugely underreported.

Refereed papers

• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
• Cheng A Y & Lee C H (2022) Skin infection by Mycobacterium farcinogenes–senegalense group in an immunocompetent patient: a case report. BMC Infect Dis 22 (1), 445 BMC.
• Zhou H, Yang H, Gong F et al (2022) Case report: Mycobacterium senegalense infection after cholecystectomy. Front Public Health 10, 899846 PubMed.
• Sodsai P, Jenjaroenpun P, Hirankarn N et al (2021) Complete genome sequences of Mycobacterium farcinogenes strains isolated from clinical specimens from patients in Thailand. Microbiol Res Announc 10 (46), e0100521 PubMed.
• Erratum for Sodsai et al “Complete genome sequences of Mycobacterium farcinogenes strains isolated from clinical specimens from patients in Thailand.” Microbiol Res Announc 10 (49), e0114521 PubMed.
• Hamid M E (2014) Current perspectives on Mycobacterium farcinogenes and Mycobacterium senegalense, the causal agents of bovine farcy. Vet Med Int 247906 PubMed.
• Hamid M E (2012) Epidemiology, pathology, immunology and diagnosis of bovine farcy: a review. Prev Vet Med 105 (1-2), 1-9 PubMed.
• El Hussein H A & Hamid M E (2009) Evaluation of ELISA in the serodiagnosis of bovine farcy. Trop Anim Health Prod 41 (4), 617-622 PubMed.
• Wallace Jr R J, Brown-Elliott B A, Brown J et al (2005) Polyphasic characterization reveals that the human pathogen Mycobacterium peregrinum type II belongs to the bovine pathogen species Mycobacterium senegalense. J Clin Microbiol 43 (12), 5925–5935 PubMed.
• Wong T C, Chan W F, Tsang W L et al (2005) Mycobacterium farcinogenes infection after total hip arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty 20 (5), 684–687 PubMed.
• Hamid M E & Goodfellow M (1997) In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of bovine farcy organisms. Revue Élev Méd Vét Pays Trop 50 (1), 5-9 VetMedResource.
• Hamid M E, Mohamed G E, Abu-Samra M T et al (1991) Bovine farcy: a clinico-pathological study of the disease and its aetiological agent. J Comp Pathol 105 (3), 287-301 PubMed.