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. 2011 Sep 22:2011:787181.
doi: 10.5402/2011/787181. Print 2011.

An Effort to Isolate Mycobacterium bovis from Environmental Substrates during Investigations of Bovine Tuberculosis Transmission Sites (Cattle Farms and Wildlife Areas) in Michigan, USA

Amanda E Fine  1 , Daniel J O'Brien, Scott R Winterstein, John B Kaneene
Affiliations

An Effort to Isolate Mycobacterium bovis from Environmental Substrates during Investigations of Bovine Tuberculosis Transmission Sites (Cattle Farms and Wildlife Areas) in Michigan, USA

Amanda E Fine et al. ISRN Vet Sci. .

Abstract

Deer movements on cattle farms, wildlife feeding, and livestock management practices in Michigan are thought to create opportunities for indirect transmission of Mycobacterium bovis via environmental substrates. To confirm the presence of viable M. bovis in the environment, substrates were collected from 13 farms with culture-confirmed M. bovis in cattle and 5 sites with high prevalence of M. bovis in free-ranging deer. None of the samples processed for mycobacterial culture were positive for M. bovis. Agent, host, and landscape-level factors decrease the probability of detecting M. bovis in the environment using conventional mycobacterial culture. Molecular techniques that increase the probability of M. bovis detection in environmental substrates should be applied to known sites of M. bovis transmission in Michigan. In the interim, epidemiological investigations informed by experimental studies will be most effective in characterizing M. bovis persistence in the environment and its role in the indirect interspecies transmission of M. bovis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of Michigan indicating the Bovine Tuberculosis State Status Designations: (1) modified accredited (infected zone) and (2) modified accredited advanced (disease-free zone). Source: Michigan Department of Agriculture, http://www.michigan.gov/bovinetb.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Map of the bovine TB “core” area within the counties of Montmorency, Alpena, Oscoda, and Alcona, Michigan.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Three photographs of sampling locations selected during investigations of bovine tuberculosis-positive cattle farms: (a) an unprotected hay bale with evidence of deer feeding activity; (b) a pond in a pasture to which both deer and cattle have access; (c) an example of feeding cattle hay on the ground in the woods.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Three photographs of sites selected for sampling in the wildlife bovine TB transmission areas: (a) an oak forest where deer fecal pellets were collected; (b) a deer feeder and a plot of forage planted for deer; (c) a pond near the trap location of a bovine TB-positive (opossum or raccoon).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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