Mycobacterial Diseases
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-1068
ISSN: 2161-1068
Faculty of Animal Science and Hydrobiolo, Department of Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Research Article
Assessment of the Use of PCR as an Early Diagnostic Indicator of Bovine Tuberculosis in Dairy Farms
Author(s): Antonia Mataragka, Virginia Fytani, John Ikonomopoulos*, Kyriaki Soptirakoglou, Aristomenis Katsiolis and Chrysoula Dile
Background: Zoonotic tuberculosis has been mainly associated with the consumption of bovine dairy products and its control has been prioritized by the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Objective: As such, the aim of this study is to assess whether the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be used as an early diagnostic indicator of Mycobacterium bovis infection in bovine dairy farms.
Methods: Milk samples (n=78) were collected from all the animals older than 8 years of age, in all (n=4) bovine dairy farms located in a specific agricultural region of Greece, with high prevalence in bovine tuberculosis. Detection of DNA belonging to slow growing members of the genus Mycobacterium was conducted in pooled samples using two PCR assays targeting 16S-rRNA and 65-kDa heat shock protein (hsp65). Randomly se.. View More»
DOI:
10.35248/2161-1068.19.9.273