Proceedings of the 10th International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis

#174
Sharing <strong>of</strong> ‘Indian Bison Type’ Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis between
goa<strong>the</strong>rds endemic for Johne’s disease and <strong>the</strong>ir animal attendants
Ajay Vir Singh, Shoor Vir Singh, Jagdeep Singh Sohal, Pravin Kumar Singh, M C Sharma
Central Institute for Research on Goats, India
Objective: Sharing <strong>of</strong> ‘Indian Bison Type’ Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) between
goa<strong>the</strong>rds endemic for Johne’s disease (JD) and <strong>the</strong>ir attendants with Crohn’s disease (CD) was investigated.
Methods: Stool from 40 persons with clinical pr<strong>of</strong>iles indistinguishable to CD (Infrequent bowel
movement, tendency to tire easily, frequent abdomen pain, diarrheal episodes, weight loss, low grade fever)
and history <strong>of</strong> consumption <strong>of</strong> raw goat milk and had variable duration (1-5, 6-10, 11-15 and >15 years) <strong>of</strong>
contact with goa<strong>the</strong>rds endemic for JD. Forty stool samples from healthy human beings with no history <strong>of</strong>
contact with animals also screened. The 26 (65.0%), 20 (50.0%), 27 (67.5%), 20 (50.0%) and 22 (55.0%)
attendants had clinical pr<strong>of</strong>iles; history <strong>of</strong> abdominal pain, diarrhoeal episodes, weight loss, fever and
consumption <strong>of</strong> raw goat milk, respectively. Stools were screened by microscopy and culture. IS900 PCR and
IS1311 PCR-RE, used to characterized colonies as MAP and ‘Indian Bison Type’
Results and Conclusions: Of 80 stool samples, MAP was isolated from 35.0% (28) human subjects and
15.0% (12) were acid fast. Of 40 healthy human beings, nil and 12.5% (5) were positive for MAP by microscopy
and culture, respectively. Of 40 animal attendants, 30.0% (12) and 23 (57.5%) were positive in microscopy
and culture, respectively.. MAP were recovered from 65.3, 75.0, 70.3, 45.0 and 54.5% attendants with clinical
pr<strong>of</strong>iles <strong>of</strong> abdomen pain, diarrhea, weight loss, and fever and milk consumption, respectively. MAP was
isolated from a person suffering from rectal bleeding. Of 23 attendants’ positive for MAP, 39.1, 30.4, 26.0 and
4.3% had worked >15, 11-15, 6-10 and 1-5 years, respectively in JD infected goa<strong>the</strong>rds.
Risk <strong>of</strong> contracting MAP infection and colitis with clinical symptoms indistinguishable to CD were higher in
attendants working with goa<strong>the</strong>rds’ endemic for JD as compared with human beings with no history <strong>of</strong> contact
with animals and risk was directly correlated with duration <strong>of</strong> association with endemic goa<strong>the</strong>rds.
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