Original Articles
Vol. 2 No. 3 (2013)
https://doi.org/10.4081/ijfs.2013.1618

Prevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in milk and dairy cattle in Southern Italy: preliminary results

Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Received: 26 April 2013
Published: 15 October 2013
2204
Views
1998
Downloads
Paratuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium, Dairy, Herds, Italy

Authors

Giacomo Marchetti
Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Veterinarie, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy.
Matteo Ricchi
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia ed Emilia Romagna, Sezione di Piacenza, Gariga di Podenzano (PC), Italy.
Andrea Serraino
andrea.serraino@unibo.it
Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Veterinarie, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy.
Federica Giacometti
Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Bologna, Italy.
Elena Bonfante
Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Veterinarie, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, Ozzano dell’Emilia (BO), Italy.
Norma Arrigoni
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia ed Emilia Romagna, Sezione di Piacenza, Gariga di Podenzano (PC), Italy.
Paratuberculosis affects all ruminants worldwide. Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) could have a role in human diseases like Crohn’s. Some extra European Union (EU) countries request importation of MAP-free products. Italy has not yet actualised a control programme and the diffusion of the infection is still unknown in Southern Italy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of the infection in five regions of Southern Italy. Bulk tank milk and in-line milk filters were sampled in 780 dairy cattle herds and respectively analysed by ELISA and real time-polymerase chain reaction (PCR). One hundred and 55 out of 780 herds (19.9%) were found positive by ELISA and/or real time PCR. Individual milk samples were then collected from all the producing animals of positive herds and from a selection of negative herds. The estimated prevalence varies from region to region between 2.8 and 5.5%. Our results indicate that the disease is widespread in the five regions. The observed prevalence could be underestimated.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

How to Cite



1.
Prevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in milk and dairy cattle in Southern Italy: preliminary results. Ital J Food Safety [Internet]. 2013 Oct. 15 [cited 2026 Sep. 13];2(3):e35. Available from: https://www.pagepressjournals.org/ijfs/article/view/ijfs.2013.e35

PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.