Exploring the potential hazard of subspecies as a cause for Crohn's disease.

Background: subspecies (MAP) is the causative agent of Johne's disease (JD), or paratuberculosis in ruminants has been suspected to be implicated in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD) in humans with chronic inflammatory intestinal changes. As the hypothesis is now fast being recognized that MAP could possibly be the etiological agent of CD which is found to be excreted in milk of dairy animals subclinically or terminally ill with JD.

Aim: The present study was aimed to detect MAP in milk by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting IS and to describe the excretion pattern of MAP in milk from asymptomatic lactating cows and does with relevance to the public health significance.

Materials And Methods: A total of 77 milk samples were collected randomly from lactating animals which include cows (45) and does (32). All the 77 milk samples were processed to identify the presence of MAP by employing the direct IS PCR as per the standard protocol.

Results: Out of 77 milk samples from asymptomatic lactating animals, 12 (15.58%) were showed positivity for IS PCR in which 5 (11.11%) were from lactating cows and 7 (21.87%) were from lactating does.

Conclusion: In our study, 15.58% of milk samples showed IS positivity which indicates the presence of subclinical MAP infection in lactating animals. Hence, there is a possibility for excretion of MAP through milk which can be a potential threat for CD in humans by raw milk consumption. Therefore, the prevention of MAP in the food chain need to be assured by sourcing raw products from animal herds free of MAP infection.