Mycobacterium aviumsubsp.paratuberculosisin Lake Catchments, in River Water Abstracted for Domestic Use, and in Effluent from Domestic Sewage Treatment Works: Diverse Opportunities for Environmental Cycling and Human Exposure

Abstract

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis from infected animals enters surface waters and rivers in runoff from contaminated pastures. We studied the River Tywi in South Wales, United Kingdom, whose catchment comprises 1,100 km 2 containing more than a million dairy and beef cattle and more than 1.3 million sheep. The River Tywi is abstracted for the domestic water supply. Between August 2002 and April 2003, 48 of 70 (68.8%) twice-weekly river water samples tested positive by IS900 PCR. In river water, the organisms were associated with a suspended solid which was depleted by the water treatment process. Disposal of contaminated slurry back onto the land established a cycle of environmental persistence. A concentrate from 100 liters of finished water tested negative, but 1 of 54 domestic cold water tanks tested positive, indicating the potential for these pathogens to access domestic outlets. In the separate English Lake District region, with hills up to 980 m, tests for M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the high hill lakes and sediments were usually negative, but streams and sediments became positive lower down the catchment. Sediments from 9 of 10 major lakes receiving inflow from these catchments were positive, with sediment cores indicating deposition over at least 40 to 50 years. Two of 12 monthly 1-liter samples of effluent and a single 100-liter sample from the Ambleside sewage treatment works were positive for M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. Since Lake Ambleside discharges into Lake Windermere, which is available for domestic supply, there is a potential for these organisms to cycle within human populations.

Persistence of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in Endangered Florida Key Deer and Key Deer Habitat

“…Evidence of MAP-positive Key deer was found only on Little Palm Island, the most distal Newfound Harbor Key; however, sampling was focused in this area. The paucity of MAP in the environment in this study is not consistent with previous studies where sampling at farms and ranches with MAP-positive livestock detected the bacterium (Pickup et al 2006). This could be due to the lower density of Key deer relative to cattle on farms, the lower prevalence of MAP infection in Key deer than is found in cattle on MAP-positive farms (Stabel 1998;Palmer et al 2007), the harshness of the environment, or differences in diagnostics.…”

Mycobacteria in water, soil, plants and air: a review

“…IS900 is specific for M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and is the most widely used sequence for its detection (Pickup et al 2005(Pickup et al , 2006Whan et al 2005;Torvinen et al 2010). For detection of M. avium subsp.…”

Assessment ofDietziasubsp.C79793-74for treatment of cattle with evidence of paratuberculosis

“…2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] As Johne disease has become an increasingly worldwide problem, due in part to the absence of preventive vaccine/drug or curative treatments, 13 including the partially protective, MAP subunit vaccine, 14 awareness as to what role, if any, animals play in the transmission of MAP to humans is being raised. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] This concern arises from the apparent specific association of MAP with Crohn disease, even though a role (etiology agent?) remains to be established.…”