A neutrophil-based test as an auxiliary tool for substantiating the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis.

Background: Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is still a prominent threat to animal health; lacking an efficient vaccine, other than BCG to get rid of tuberculosis, the most effective way for this is culling and slaughtering the infected animals. There are several cellular, serological, and molecular tests for the diagnosis of the disease but the most practical one at the field level is the double skin testing with bovine and aviary tuberculins. This is not a very specific test but is sensitive enough to identify most diseased animals; adjunct practical tests are desirable to strengthen the utility of skin tests.

SEROPREVALENCE OF ANTIBODIES AGAINST MYCOBACTERIUM AVIUM SUBSP. PARATUBERCULOSIS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO AGE AND SEX OF TEXAS WHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS) IN COAHUILA, MEXICO.

Paratuberculosis (PTB) is a disease that affects cattle (Bos taurus), goats (Capra aegagrus hircus), sheep (Ovis aries), and wild animals, such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), since all ruminants are susceptible. The causal agent is Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP).

Detection of subsp. in reproductive tissue and semen of naturally infected rams.

subsp. (MAP) is the causative agent of paratuberculosis (PTB), disease that causes a syndrome of bad nutrient absorption, weight loss and eventually death. The intestine is the main target organ where the infection develops; however, there is evidence of infection by MAP in extra-intestine sites of sheep, including mesenteric nodes and semen.

Polymorphism of the PE domain of PE/PE_PGRS sequences in clinical isolates of Mycobacterium bovis in Mexico.

Polymorphism of the PE domain of PE/PE_PGRS sequences was studied in Mycobacterium bovis isolates from different Mexican states. Samples were analyzed by spolygotyping and RFLP using IS6110 and a 235-bp fragment of the PE domain of PE/PE_PGRS as probes. With the PE probe, three different genotypes were observed, one being predominant in all states.