Table 1.

Signalment, pertinent findings, treatment and outcome of present series

Case/country of origin	Year of diagnosis	Age at diagnosis (years)	Breed	Sex	Presenting complaint	Physical findings	Tissues involved	Lymph nodes affected	Mycobacterial therapy	Outcome
1, Australia	1995	3	Aby	Mn	Routine examination	Enlarged popliteal lymph node, subsequent weight loss	Intestines, lungs, liver, kidney, mesentery	Popliteal, mesenteric, medial iliac, hilar	Ciprofloxacin (125 mg bid) discontinued after 1 month	Euthanasia
2, Australia	1999	2	Aby	Mn	Weight loss	Poor body condition, hepatomegaly, irregular kidneys, harsh inspiratory sounds	Lungs, liver, spleen, kidney	Mesenteric	Clarithromycin (62.5 mg bid), clofazimine (25 mg sid)	Resolved during 1 year therapy. Lost to follow-up 22 months later
3, Australia	1999	2	DSH	Fs	Enlarged, reddenned vulva	Swollen, erythematous vulva, lymphadenomegaly (submandibular, popliteal, mesenteric)	lungs, vulva	Popliteal, submandibular, mesenteric	Clarithromycin (62.5 mg bid), clofazimine (50 mg eod)	Resolved during 1 year therapy. Recurrence 4 years later
4, USA	2000	3	Aby	Fs	Weight loss, polyphagia	Poor body condition, harsh respiratory sounds, pyrexia	Ileum, liver, kidney, bone marrow, brain	Mesenteric, hilar	Not attempted	Euthanasia (diagnosis was post mortem)
5, Australia	2001	3	Somali	Fs	Enlarged popliteal lymph node	Poor body condition, enlarged popliteal lymph node, subsequent weight loss	Lungs, liver, spleen	Popliteal, mandibular, mesenteric, others (not specified)	Not attempted	Euthanasia (diagnosis was post mortem)
6, USA	2002	4	Aby	Fs	Weight loss	Poor body condition, dehydrated, pyrexia, harsh expiratory sounds	Lungs, liver, spleen, bone marrow	Mesenteric	Clarithromycin (30 mg bid) [adverse reactions to others tried]	Improved during therapy. Died 1 year later
7, USA	2002	5	Aby	Mn	Weight loss, anorexia, tachypnoea	Poor body condition, abdominal mass, tachypnoea	Ileum, caecum, omentum, lungs	Mesenteric	Clarithromycin (15 mg bid) discontinued at 10 weeks, clofazimine (50 mg sid), doxycycline (50 mg bid)	Resolved during 5.5 months therapy. Therapy discontinued due to azotaemia
8, Australia	2003	1	Aby	Mn	Weight loss, hyporexia	Poor body condition, enlarged popliteal lymph node, harsh respiratory sounds	Lungs	Popliteal	Clarithromycin (62.5 mg bid) adverse reaction to rifampicin (75 mg sid) after 4 months, changed to: clofazimine (25 mg sid)	Resolved during 14 months therapy
9, Australia	2004	4	Aby	Mn	Weight loss, lethargy	Poor body condition, enlarged popliteal lymph node, bilateral renomegaly	Lungs, liver, spleen, kidney	Popliteal, mesenteric	Clarithromycin (62.5 mg bid), rifampicin (75 mg sid)	Clinically normal during 12 months of therapy. Recurrence 3 months later and therapy restarted
10, Australia	2004	2	Aby	Mn	Ill thrift, anorexia, coughing, head tilt, ataxia	Poor body condition, harsh expiratory sounds, pyrexia, nystagmus	Liver, omentum, brain	Mesenteric, ileocaecal	Rifampicin (75 mg sid) possible adverse reaction to azithromycin (40 mg sid) after 4 months, changed to: clarithromycin (62.5 mg twice daily)	Initial improvement during therapy. Euthanased at 5 months due to deterioration
11, USA *	2004	4	Aby	Mn	Weight loss, coughing, sporadic vomiting, blood in faeces	Poor body condition	Liver, spleen, pancreas, peritoneum	Mesenteric	Clarithromycin (62.5 mg bid), rifampicin (75 mg sid)	Improved. Still undergoing therapy (9 months of treatment at time of writing)
12, Australia	2004	2	Aby	Mn	Weight loss, lethargy	Enlarged popliteal, mandibular lymph nodes, harsh respiratory sounds	Lungs	Popliteal, mandibular	Clarithromycin (62.5 mg bid), rifampicin (75 mg sid), doxycycline (50 mg sid)	Improved. Still undergoing therapy (7 months of treatment at time of writing)

Aby=Abyssinian, DSH=domestic shorthair, Mn=male neuter, Fs=female spayed, bid=every 12 h, sid=every 24 h.

^*Moved to and was diagnosed in Australia.