Extensive environmental survey of free-living amoebae and their elusive association with Mycobacterium bovis or Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis.

Free-living amoebae (FLA) are described as environmental reservoirs for some bacteria able to resist their phagocytosis. In the environment, the fate of Mycobacterium bovis (Mbo) and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map), responsible for bovine tuberculosis and paratuberculosis respectively, remains poorly understood and is considered potentially problematic in the eradication and control of these diseases.

Characterization of sp. nov., a rhizarian amoeba interacting with subsp. .

Free-living amoebae are described as potential reservoirs for pathogenic bacteria in the environment. It has been hypothesized that this might be the case for subsp. , the bacterium responsible for paratuberculosis.

Presence of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria Including subsp. Associated with Environmental Amoebae.

One of the obstacles to eradicating or Johne's Disease (JD) seems to be the persistence of subsp. () in the environment due to its ability to survive alone or vectorized. It has been shown that is widely distributed in soils and water.

Towards delimitation of the Echinococcus multilocularis parasite's southernmost range in France.

Alveolar echinococcosis is a severe, potentially fatal, parasitic disease caused by ingestion of microscopic eggs of Echinococcus multilocularis. The lifecycle of the parasite is essentially sylvatic, and based on a prey-predator relationship between red foxes and small rodents. A westward expansion from the eastern historical focus has been reported in France, though the parasite has also been detected in the southern Alps.

Infection in Red Foxes in France.

, member of the , complex is known to interfere in the screening and diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis. This pathogen is increasingly detected in the frame of surveillance programs for tuberculosis in livestock and wildlife. Recently, red foxes () were found infected by in four French endemic areas.

Engineering Synthetic Lipopeptide Antigen for Specific Detection of subsp. Infection.

Unlike other MAC members, subsp. (MAP) does not produce glycopeptidolipids (GPL) on the surface of the cell wall but a lipopentapeptide called L5P (also termed Lipopeptide-I or Para-LP-01) characterized in C-type (bovine) strains. This lipopeptide antigen contains a pentapeptide core, D-Phenylalanine-N-methyl-L-Valine-L-Isoleucine-L-Phenylalanine-L-Alanine, in which the N-terminal D-Phenylalanine is amido-linked with a fatty acid (C18-C20).

Infection in Red Foxes in Four Animal Tuberculosis Endemic Areas in France.

In France, animal tuberculosis (TB) due to ( ) affects a multi-host community that include cattle and wildlife species such as wild boars (), badgers (), or wild deer (). The involvement of foxes in the epidemiology of TB is fairly described in countries facing multispecies concerns. After the discovery of grouped cases of TB in foxes in a French TB endemic region, a study was implemented in the core of four TB endemic areas in Dordogne, Charente, Landes (departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region), and Côte-d'Or (Burgundy-Franche-Comté region).

Tuberculosis in the wild boar: Frequentist and Bayesian estimations of diagnostic test parameters when Mycobacterium bovis is present in wild boars but at low prevalence.

The Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) is increasingly considered as a relevant actor in the epidemiology of animal tuberculosis (TB). Therefore, monitoring TB in this species is key when establishing comprehensive control schemes for this disease still present in Europe. No data are available on direct and indirect TB diagnostic methods in wild boars in epidemiological contexts where TB is endemic in cattle and detected in wild boars at low prevalence.

Second line molecular diagnosis for bovine tuberculosis to improve diagnostic schemes.

Surveillance of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is partly based on the sanitary inspection of carcasses at the abattoir to detect bTB-like lesions which, in compliance with EU recommendations, are analysed by bacteriology and histopathology to disclose Mycobacterium bovis (or M. caprae) infection. Moreover, since 2012, a PCR method with similar sensitivity and specificity values of histopathology and bacteriology respectively is additionally employed in France, partially compensating for the weaknesses of classical diagnostic methods.

Mycobacterium bovis Infection of Red Fox, France.

Mycobacterium bovis infection in wild red foxes was found in southern France, where livestock and other wildlife species are infected. Foxes frequently interact with cattle but have been underestimated as a reservoir of M. bovis.

Successful Application of the Gamma-Interferon Assay in a Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Program: The French Bullfighting Herd Experience.

In the French Camargue region, where bovine tuberculosis had been enzootic for several years in bullfighting cattle herds, the gamma-interferon (IFN) assay was used since 2003 in parallel with the intradermal test in order to increase overall disease detection sensitivity in infected herds. This study presents the results of a field-evaluation of the assay during a 10-year period (2004-2014) of disease control and surveillance program and explores the particular pattern of IFN assay results in bullfight herds in comparison to cattle from other regions of France. The low sensitivity [59.

Multilaboratory Evaluation of a Novel Lateral Flow Immunochromatographic Assay for Confirming Isolation of Mycobacterium bovis from Veterinary Diagnostic Specimens.

A novel lateral flow immunochromatographic device (LFD) was evaluated in several veterinary diagnostic laboratories. It was confirmed to be specific for and cells. The performance of the novel LFD was assessed relative to the confirmatory tests routinely applied after culture (spoligotyping or quantitative PCR [qPCR]) in each laboratory; liquid (MGIT or BacT/Alert) and/or solid (Stonebrink, Coletsos, or Lowenstein-Jensen) cultures were tested.

Interferon gamma response to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis specific lipopentapeptide antigen L5P in cattle.

After Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) infection the cell-mediated immune (CMI) response indicative of early Th1 activation may be detected using interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). Currently, the purified protein derivatives (PPDs), i.

Estimation of sensitivity and specificity of bacteriology, histopathology and PCR for the confirmatory diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis using latent class analysis.

Bacteriology and histopathology are the most commonly used tests used for official confirmatory diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle in most countries. PCR is also being used increasingly because it allows a fast diagnosis. This test could be applied as a supplement to or replacement for current bTB confirmatory diagnostic tests but its characteristics have first to be evaluated.

Bovine tuberculosis in Europe from the perspective of an officially tuberculosis free country: trade, surveillance and diagnostics.

Switzerland has been officially free of bovine tuberculosis (OTF) since 1960. Since 1980 the control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) has been reduced to passive abattoir surveillance. Isolated cases of bTB, partly due to reactivation of human Mycobacterium bovis infections with subsequent transmission to cattle, have been noticed in the last years.

Determination of decisional cut-off values for the optimal diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis with a modified IFNγ assay (Bovigam®) in a low prevalence area in France.

The Bovigam(®) gamma interferon (IFNγ) assay was used to complement official skin-test screening in a low bovine tuberculosis (bTB) prevalence region in France. The aim of our work was to determine decisional cut-off values for protein purified derivatives (PPD) and ESAT6-CFP10 antigens (R) in order to optimize the efficacy of the modified Bovigam(®) test, in this low-prevalence area, for optimal classification of infected or non-infected herds following positive skin tests. The sensitivity of the IFNγ assay relative to post-mortem bTB-positive animals (Se(r)) was studied in 60 cattle from 20 bTB-infected herds.