Mycobacterial infection of pigs in Croatia

Acta Vet Hung. 2007 Mar;55(1):1-9. doi: 10.1556/AVet.55.2007.1.1.

Abstract

During a five-year period (2000 to 2004) 74,342 pigs were tested by the intradermal tuberculin test in Croatia. Of them, 248 (0.33%) pigs were positive and 91 (0.12%) were found to be suspicious in 7 out of the 13 farms included in the study. Gross pathological changes characteristic of tuberculosis were observed in tuberculin-positive and/or suspicious swine. Mycobacterium was isolated from the lymph nodes of 183 out of 234 swine (78.2%). For better epidemiological understanding, isolates were typed by conventional methods, PCR and hybridisation. The results show that most of the isolates belonged to the Mycobacterium avium complex (175 isolates, 95.7%). Other isolates belonged to M. fortuitum (6 isolates, 3.3%), M. chelonae (1 isolate, 0.5%), and M. peregrinum (1 isolate, 0.5%). Isolated strains of the M. avium complex were identified as M a. avium (37 isolates, 21.1%) and M. a. hominissuis (138 isolates, 78.9%).

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Croatia / epidemiology
  • DNA, Bacterial / chemistry
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • Mycobacterium / genetics
  • Mycobacterium / isolation & purification*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
  • Swine
  • Swine Diseases / epidemiology
  • Swine Diseases / microbiology*
  • Tuberculin Test / veterinary
  • Tuberculosis / epidemiology
  • Tuberculosis / microbiology
  • Tuberculosis / veterinary*

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial