Outbreak of feline tuberculosis caused byin a German household, a possible domestic zoonosis.

Infections withcan lead to clinical tuberculosis in many mammals. Here, we describeinfections in 4 of 7 cats from 1 household in Germany. These cats had respiratory disorders at intervals of several months. Two of 4 euthanized animals (cats 3 and 4) were submitted for postmortem examination; lungs failed to collapse and were firm in both cats. In cat 4, a severely enlarged pulmonary lymph node was found, as well as small white granulomas in the spleen, liver, and kidney. Bacterial cultivation identifiedspoligotype SB0120 as the causative pathogen in cats 3 and 4. Molecular genetic fine typing revealed that this genotype had not been reported previously in animals or humans in Germany. Serum from cat 4 shortly before euthanasia, and from cats 5-7, were tested for TB-specific antibodies by ELISA. Cat 4 was strongly positive. In contrast, cats 5-7 were negative and remained negative 4 mo later. Based on our case series, tuberculosis should be considered as a differential diagnosis in pet animals, even in countries that are officially free of the disease. A lack of awareness about tuberculosis could increase the risk of zoonotic infections with-for both owners and other animals living in affected households.