Primary lingual tuberculosis caused by M. bovis infection

Abstract

Although tuberculosis of tongue has been previously reported, its infrequent clinical presentation and increased chance of being overlooked during routine examination of the oral cavity, make it worthy of documentation. Lingual tuberculosis is usually associated with tuberculosis of the oropharynx, lungs, lymph nodes, and miliary tuberculosis. Primary tuberculosis of the tongue is extremely rare and is seldom reported. Early diagnosis of tuberculosis elsewhere in body and its effective treatment by antituberculous drugs may be the reason for its uncommon presentation. The relationship between consumption of raw or unboiled milk and tuberculosis of the tongue is ill-understood and has evidently not been reported. We take this opportunity to present the first case of primary lingual tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis related to consumption of unboiled cow milk.