Human Mycobacterium bovis infection in Buenos Aires: epidemiology, microbiology and clinical presentation

We performed a retrospective study of clinical, epidemiological and microbiological characteristics of patients with confirmed Mycobacterium bovis infection treated at Francisco Mu?iz Hospital, Buenos Aires, Argentina, between 1996 and 2008. A total of 39 patients were included, accounting for 0.4% of tuberculosis cases in our hospital. Of these, 93% had at least one risk factor for M. bovis; the most frequent was occupational exposure (65%), followed by history of living in a rural area (31%) and consumption of unpasteurised milk (4%). Pulmonary disease was the most frequent clinical presentation. Rifampicin resistance and multidrug resistance were seen in two patients, both of whom had human immunodeficiency virus infection.