Seroprevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Dairy Cattle in Khartoum State, Sudan

Abstract

Paratuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), is a chronic wasting disease mainly of domestic and wild ruminants. It occurs worldwide, causing significant economic losses through decreased productivity, low fertility, increased cull rates and mortality. It is listed by the OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) as a disease of concern to trade in animals. Prevalence of this disease can be studied by detecting anti-MAP antibodies by Enzyme linked immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The aim of this study was to investigate the current prevalence of MAP infection in cattle in Khartoum State. The overall apparent prevalence of MAP infection was found to be 6.3% and 18.9% at animal and herd levels, respectively. All seropositive animals were cross-bred females of good body condition; most of them (>90%) were >3 years old and >50% were from medium-sized herds in Omdurman. No significant association (p > 0.05) was found between seropositivity and animal herd size. The prevalence of MAP infection in Khartoum State is still low to medium compared to other parts of the world, but it is comparable to those reported from other African countries. Further studies with the view of designing nationwide surveys in domestic ruminants and camels in other states of the country are needed for establishing control programmes.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis and microbiome profile of patients in a referral gastrointestinal diseases centre in the Sudan

“…Although not all of the MAP+ patients were living with or had animal contact, they shared the dietary routine of milk consumption. Infected animals usually excrete the organism in milk and faeces progressively [ 4 ] and with the thermal resistance of MAP [ 3 ], milk consumption is a potential risk factor for its transmission, especially with the high prevalence of MAP recorded recently [ 35 ]. MAP was also documented in apparently healthy individuals [ 13 , 39 ] and many other health disorders, including malaria, thyroid disorder, iron imbalance and anaemia [ 13 ].…”

“…MAP in humans in the Sudan has never been investigated, neither in diseases that have been linked to it earlier (CD or IBD) nor in other diseases, more likely due to the scarce information on these diseases [ 32 – 34 ]. However, because of the relatively high prevalence of MAP in cattle in Khartoum, Sudan [ 35 ] in addition to the close contact between humans and animals, we hypothesize that MAP prevalence in human is higher than expected. This necessitates investigating this organism in humans as well.…”

Molecular and serological survey of paratuberculosis in cattle in selected districts of Western Uganda

“…These results do not differ significantly from those obtained in earlier studies in other parts of the country [ 21 , 22 ]. This situation is also not different from other African countries such as Egypt which reported 12.6% ( n = 500) MAP ELISA positive cattle [ 23 ], and Sudan which has recently reported an apparent seroprevalence of 6.3% ( n = 175) in cattle in Khartoum State [ 24 ]. Countries without a national control program such as India have reported high individual animal seroprevalence rates of MAP ranging between 21.4–29.8% among the cattle population [ 25 , 26 ].…”

A Review of the Paratuberculosis in Iran

“…Herd reservoir milk has 59% [25] and individual cow milk has 30%. [25] Infection in Iran that compare to the results of M. paratuberculosis infection situation in analysis studies in the world (28% and 32% infection in herd reservoir milk and individual cow milk, respectively) [26] shows a higher infection. Because JD is often subclinical, stockbreeders usually ignore this disease and do not realize its economic losses.…”