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...

BACKGROUND Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium (Maa) and Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis (Mah) are opportunistic pathogens that may infect several species, including humans and pigs. Mah is however more frequently isolated from pigs than Maa, and it is unclear if this is due to difference in virulence or in exposure to the two organisms. Clinical isolates of each subspecies were administere...

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are not only emerging and opportunistic pathogens of both humans and animals, but from a veterinary point of view some species induce cross-reactive immune responses that hamper the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in both livestock and wildlife. Little information is available about NTM species circulating in wildlife species of South Africa. In this st...

Analysis of the mechanisms through which pathogenic mycobacteria interfere with macrophage activation and phagosome maturation have shown that engagement of specific membrane receptors with bacterial ligands is the initiating event. Mannosylated lipoarabinomannan (Man-LAM) has been identified as one of the ligands that modulates macrophage function. We evaluated the effects of Man-LAM derived f...

Interstitial pneumonia (2/3 of the lungs were affected) and diffusely enlarged bronchial and mediastinal lymph nodes were diagnosed by gross examination of a dead 16-year-old mare. Based on histopathological examination and the detection of acid-fast rods after staining by the Ziehl-Neelsen technique, tuberculosis was suspected. Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium of serotype 2 and IS901+/IS1245+ ...

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis was identified by nested polymerase chain reaction in the blood and semen of a 4year-old Holstein breeding bull that exhibited clinical signs of paratuberculosis and was serologically positive for the organism by agar gel immunodiffusion and ELISA, although three fecal cultures were negative for the organism. The animal subsequently died, but a ne...

IS901 RFLP analysis of 36 Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium (MAA) isolates from 15 pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) and two goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) from four pheasant farms was performed. Using this method, six different IS901 RFLP types (E, F, G, M, Q, and V) were identified. The distribution of IS901 RFLP profiles was tightly linked to individual flocks. Matching IS901 RFLP profiles obser...

In this study, a series of twenty-two ring-substituted naphthalene-1-carboxanilides were prepared and characterized. Primary in vitro screening of the synthesized carboxanilides was performed against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. N-(2-Methoxyphenyl)naphthalene-1-carboxamide, N-(3-methoxy-phenyl)naphthalene-1-carboxamide, N-(3-methylphenyl)naphthalene-1-carboxamide, N-(4-methylphe...