Association of fecal shedding of mycobacteria with high ELISA-determined seroprevalence for paratuberculosis in beef herds. Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the seroprevalence of paratuberculosis by use of 2 commercial ELISAs in association with prevalence of fecal shedding of mycobacteria within beef cattle herds. DESIGN: Cross-sectional field study. ANIMALS: Six beef herds (affected herds; 522 cattle) with and 3 geographically matched herds (181 cattle) without high seroprevalence of paratuberculosis. PROCEDURES: Blood and fecal samples were collected from adult cattle and assessed for serum anti-Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP) antibodies with 2 commercial ELISA kits and submitted for bacterial culture for MAP and environmental bacteria (termed environmental mycobacteria) via a radiometric method, respectively. Species of mycobacterial isolates were identified, and sensitivities and specificities of the 2 ELISAs were compared. RESULTS: Compared with comparison cattle, cattle from affected herds were 9.4 times as likely to have environmental mycobacteria isolated from feces. Among the 6 affected and 3 comparison herds, the proportions of cattle shedding environmental mycobacteria were 0.225 (range, 0.1 to 0.72) and 0.04 (range, 0 to 0.06), respectively. Although relative MAP- detection specificities (compared with bacterial culture of feces) were different between the 2 ELISAs, sensitivities were not. Nine environmental mycobacterial species were identified from participating herds. All affected herds apparently had > or = 1 bovid infected with MAP, although MAP was not isolated from any cattle in comparison herds. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In beef herds with persistently high rates of false- positive ELISA results, which may be associated with recovery of environmental myco- bacteria from feces, organism detection via bacterial culture of feces or PCR assay should direct paratuberculosis control measures.

published proceedings

  • J Am Vet Med Assoc

author list (cited authors)

  • Roussel, A. J., Fosgate, G. T., Manning, E., & Collins, M. T

citation count

  • 27

complete list of authors

  • Roussel, Allen J||Fosgate, Geoffrey T||Manning, Elizabeth JB||Collins, Michael T

publication date

  • March 2007