Johne's disease (JD) is a chronic enteric disease caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis that affects ruminants. Transmission occurs by the fecal-oral route. A commonly used antemortem diagnostic test for the detection of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in feces is liquid culture; however, a major constraint is the 2- to 3-month incubation period needed for this method. Rapid me...

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis has been incriminated as a cause of Crohn's disease (CD); however, studies to date have been relatively small and generally only used a single diagnostic assay. The objective of the study was to reexamine the association of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and CD using multiple diagnostic tests. Five methods were used to detect M. avium subsp. paratub...

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is the causative agent of Johne's disease in animals and has been hypothesized to be associated with Crohn's disease in humans. Recently, M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolates recovered from Crohn's disease patients were shown to have limited diversity, implying the existence of human disease-associated genotypes and strain sharing with animals (A...

The longstanding assumption that calves of more than 6 months of age are more resistant to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection has recently been challenged. In order to elucidate this, a challenge experiment was performed to evaluate age- and dose-dependent susceptibility to MAP infection in dairy calves. Fifty-six calves from MAP-negative dams were randomly allocate...

Two antigens ('cattle' type and 'Indian Bison' type) of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis were evaluated for diagnosis of Johne's disease (JD) in a gaushala (cattle herd). Of the 160 cows of Sahiwal and Hariana breeds screened, 81 (50.6%) tested positive in ELISA and 66 (41.8%) in AGPT test. Using the two antigens, 33.5% tested positive in both the tests while 41.1% tested negativ...

Methods to improve the ELISA test to detect Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis have been explored over several years. Previously, selected recombinant proteins of M. avium subspecies paratuberculosis were found to be immunogenic in cattle with Johne's disease. In the present study, antibody responses of infected and healthy sheep were evaluated using 18 purified recombinant proteins in...

The prevalence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolated from the feces of wild European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) humanely trapped at a feedlot in central Kansas was assessed. All E. coli and Salmonella isolates recovered were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System panels and the ...

Paratuberculosis is a chronic infectious disorder and a major problem in farmed ruminants. This disease is caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis is an important pathogen that causes Johne's disease in animals and also has been implicated as a possible cause of Crohn's disease in humans, but little is known about the protective immune responses t...

We read with interest the report of Sechi et al. (1) on the associations among Crohn’s disease (CD), Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, and carriage of mutant alleles of the NOD2/CARD15 gene. We believe that the study by Sechi et al. was well conceived, is critical to understanding the etiology of Crohn’s disease, and should stimulate additional interest in the field. Unfortunately, t...

We read with interest the report of Sechi et al. (1) on the associations among Crohn’s disease (CD), Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, and carriage of mutant alleles of the NOD2/CARD15 gene. We believe that the study by Sechi et al. was well conceived, is critical to understanding the etiology of Crohn’s disease, and should stimulate additional interest in the field. Unfortunately, t...