Presence and persistence of Mycobacterium avium and other nontuberculous mycobacteria in animal tissues and derived foods: a review.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous, potentially pathogenic organisms that have been isolated from a variety of environmental sources. NTM have been isolated from various kinds of food and many studies support the hypothesis that food, especially raw or partially cooked products, plays a role as a source of NTM for humans. Animals with disseminated infection have been diagnosed with NTM not only in the gastro-intestinal tract and intestinal lymph nodes, but also in tissues like muscle and parenchymatous organs. Infected animals may harbor NTM in their tissues even without clinical symptoms and especially minced meat with the possible addition of lymph nodes are considered as potential source of NTM. The purpose of this paper was to review articles concerning the detection of mycobacteria in the muscle tissue and lymph nodes of domestic animals, farmed and free-living game and to summarize methods and techniques for their detection.