Comparison of three decontamination methods for Mycobacterium bovis isolation.

SIXTY SAMPLES OF TISSUE FRAGMENTS WITH LESIONS SUGGESTIVE OF TUBERCULOSIS FROM BOVINE ABATTOIRS, KEPT IN SATURATED SOLUTION OF SODIUM BORATE, WERE SUBJECTED TO FOUR TREATMENTS: 4% NaOH (Petroff Method), 12 % H2SO4 and 1.5% HPC (1-Hexadecylpyridinium Chloride) decontamination, and physiological saline solution (control). The HPC method showed the lowest contamination rate (3%) when compared to control (88%, p<0.