PARATUBERCULOSIS AND FOOD OF ANIMAL ORIGIN

Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratubercolosis (MAP) is the causative agent of Johne’s disease (or paratubercolosis),a chronic infectious enteritis in cattle, sheep and goats. Infected animals shed viable MAP in their milk, faeces and semen. MAP may have a role in development of Crohn’s disease,a chronic inflammatory bowel disease in humans, via the consumption of contamined milk and milk products, meat and contamined water supplies. For some authors pasteurization is not sufficient to kill all MAP cells present in milk and it has been cultured from raw or pasteurizated milk and isolated from cheese. MAP has not isolated from retail beef to date, although limited testing has been carried out. Probably MAP may be involved in other chronic diseases like Type-1 Diabetes. Which is the possible public health consequence of periodically use by susceptible individuals is uncertain.