Original Scientific Article
Bovine tuberculosis in the Republic of Macedonia: postmortem, microbiological and molecular study in slaughtered reactor cattle
Iskra Cvetkovikj * ,
Slavcho Mrenoshki ,
Kiril Krstevski ,
Igor Djadjovski ,
Branko Angjelovski ,
Zagorka Popova ,
Aleksandar Janevski ,
Aleksandar Dodovski ,
Aleksandar Cvetkovikj

Mac Vet Rev 2017; 40 (1): 43 - 52

10.1515/macvetrev-2016-0097

Received: 01 July 2016

Received in revised form: 29 November 2016

Accepted: 02 December 2016

Available Online First: 15 December 2016

Published on: 15 March 2017

Correspondence: Iskra Cvetkovikj, iskra@fvm.ukim.edu.mk
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Abstract

Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease in cattle caused mainly by Mycobacterium bovis and to a lesser extent by Mycobacterium caprae. The other members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) can also cause the disease in domestic and wild animals and all of them have a zoonotic potential. The main purpose of the study was to determine the presence and distribution of the tuberculous lesions in reactor cattle, and to isolate and identify the causative agents of bovine tuberculosis in the Republic of Macedonia. Lymph nodes and affected organs from 188 reactor cattle slaughtered due to a positive intradermal comparative cervical tuberculin test were analyzed by detection of tuberculous lesions, followed by isolation and molecular identification of the isolated mycobacteria. The isolation was performed on selective media – Lowenstein Jensen with glycerol, Lowenstein Jensen without glycerol and Stonebrink medium supplemented with pyruvate. The molecular identification of the MTBC members was performed by analysis of the Regions of difference (RD1, RD9 and RD4) and detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the lepA gene for Mycobacterium caprae. Typical tuberculous lesions were detected in 62 animals (33.0%) and the lesions were most prevalent in the mediastinal lymph nodes (47.5%). The isolated mycobacteria in the MTBC were identified as Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae and were found in both animals with visible lesions (82.2%) and animals without visible lesions (27.7%). The slaughterhouse postmortem examinations and laboratory investigations should be included on regular bases in order to improve the National eradication program.

Keywords: bovine tuberculosis, Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium caprae, PCR, Republic of Macedonia


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Copyright

© 2016 Cvetkovikj I. This is an open-access article publishedunder the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License whichpermits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,provided the original author and source are credited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declared that they have no potential conflict of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 40, Issue 1, Pages 43-52, p-ISSN 1409-7621, e-ISSN 1857-7415, DOI: 10.1515/macvetrev-2016-0097, 2017