U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research: Ames, IA
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Midwest Area Ames, Iowa National Animal Disease Center Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Thacker, Tyleritem
                                            ROBBE-AUSTERMAN, SUELEE - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), National Wildlife Centeritem
                                            HARRIS, BETH - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)item
                                            Palmer, Mitchellitem
                                            Waters, Wade
  Submitted to: BioMed Central (BMC) Veterinary Research
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 3/21/2013
                                    Publication  Date: 5/8/2013
                                    Citation: Thacker, T.C., Robbe-Austerman, S., Harris, B., Palmer, M.V., Waters, W.R. 2013. Isolation of Mycobacteria from clinical samples collected in the United States from 2004 to 2011. BioMed Central (BMC) Veterinary Research. 9(1):100.Interpretive Summary: Mycobacterium bovis causes tuberculosis in humans, cattle and deer. Mycobacteria other than Mycobacterium bovis are found in the environment and can infect animals. When these environmental mycobacteria infect an animal they can interfere with current diagnostic tests making them less effective. The interference from environmental mycobacteria becomes greater as the number of animals with tuberculosis decreases, resulting in more false positive test results. To improve current diagnostic tests and develop new tests, it is critical to identify the mycobacteria that are infecting cattle and deer. Here we report the mycobacteria that are grown from animal samples that were suspected of having tuberculosis. These results will be used to compare the genomes of the environmental mycobacteria with Mycobacterium bovis to identify proteins or genes that can be used to improve the current diagnostic tests and to develop new tests.
                                Technical Abstract: Background: Mycobacteria other than M. bovis (i.e. atypical mycobacteria) may interfere with current bovine tuberculosis diagnostic tests resulting in false positive test results. In populations with low prevalence of M. bovis (i.e., as detected within the United States), interference from atypical mycobacteria play an increasingly important role in preventing the eradication of M. bovis. To help characterize the atypical mycobacteria that may be interfering with current diagnostic tests, mycobacteria isolated from clinical tissues at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories were speciated, enumerated and compared by season, host species, region, and type of submission (i.e., field vs abattoir surveillance).

Results: Between 1 January 2004 and 9 October 2001, 2,366 atypical mycobacteria were isolated from samples submitted for clinical diagnosis of M. bovis. Fifty-five mycobacterial species were isolated during this time period. In cattle, M. avium complex, M. fortuitum/fortuitum complex, M. smegmatis, M. kansasii, and M. terrea complex were the predominate species other than M. bovis isolated from tissues submitted for culture. Mycobacteria other then M. bovis isolated from deer were predominantly M. avium complex, M. terrae/terrae complex, and M. fortuitum/fortuitum complex.

Conclusions: These data provide information characterizing the mycobacterial species and relative prevalence of atypical mycobacteria that may be interfering with current diagnostic tests.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov