Abstract

MENDEZ OLVERA, Estela Teresita et al. Detection of Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis in goats from a semi-arid region in Tecozautla Hidalgo municipality. Rev Salud Anim. [online]. 2013, vol.35, n.3, pp. 182-188. ISSN 0253-570X.

Paratuberculosis or «Johne's disease» is an infectious disease that affects domestic ruminants mainly sheep, cattle and goats. The etiologic agent of this disease is Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (Map). The main signs of this disease include weight loss and chronic diarrhea caused as a result of granulomatous enteritis caused by Map. This disease causes severe economic losses in the livestock sector. In the United States it was estimated for 2001, an annual loss of 150.000 million dollars; in Mexico, there are no economic studies of the losses caused by this disease and there are few studies on the presence of the etiologic agent in different areas. The aim of this study was to identify the presence of Map in feces and serum samples from goats, using diagnostic techniques such as PCR, ELISA and Ziehl-Neelsen stain (ZN). One hundred-thirty nine samples of feces and serum from different herds were analyzed to identify Map. For the detection of Map by PCR, two primer pairs detecting a segment of the IS900-specific Map were used. From the 139 samples tested, seven of them were positive by PCR and six by ZN staining. In the ELISA test, five were positive. This work is the first report about the presence of Map in Tecozautla Hidalgo, and shows the utility of molecular diagnostic tests to establish the presence of infectious agents affecting production. It also proposes a new methodology for extracting DNA from feces, which is compatible with detection methods based on PCR.

Keywords : Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis; goats; diagnostic; PCR.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )