Resumo

Mycobacterium bovis is a member of the M. tuberculosis complex, a group composed by species with high genetic homology. The pathogen is the etiological agent of bovine tuberculosis, an important zoonosis that is mainly transmitted by inhalation of infectious droplet nuclei or by ingestion of milk and crude milk derivative products from tuberculosis cows. The definitive identification of M. bovis, up to species level, is time consuming and difficult. In this work, the objective was to standardize a polymerase chain reaction followed by an enzyme restriction analysis in order to identify the M. tuberculosis complex in milk, without a microbiological isolation step. Reference strains and raw milk seeded with M. Bovis, were used as the starting material.  A 441pb fragment of the hsp65 gene was amplified and digested by two restriction enzymes BstEII and HaeIII. The obtained profile was used to identify the M. tuberculosis complex in milk. The minimum limit of detection of M. bovis in milk was 10CFU/mL. PRA methodology proved to be a specific and sensible method. It can be used to assist the microbiological and biochemical methods commonly used to identifying the bacilli in clinical samples, as milk  Key word: Detection limit (PRA), Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, milk Mycobacterium bovis, Restriction Enzyme Analysis (PCR),

Mycobacterium bovis é membro do complexo Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTBC), grupo este composto por espécies com grande homologia genética. É o agente etiológico da tuberculose bovina, importante zoonose transmissível ao homem, principalmente através da inalação do bacilo e/ou pelo consumo de leite e derivados não-pasteurizados provenientes de vacas tuberculosas. O objetivo deste estudo foi padronizar a identificação de micobactérias do complexo M. tuberculosis presentes no leite, por metodologia molecular. Fez-se a extração de DNA diretamente do leite contaminado e realizou-se a identificação molecular pela reação em cadeia da polimerase seguida de análise de restrição do fragmento amplificado (PRA). Utilizaram-se inhagens de referência e leite cru artificialmente contaminado com M. bovis IP. Um fragmento de 441pb do gene hsp65 foi amplificado, tratado com BstEII e HaeIII e empregou-se o perfil de restrição enzimática obtido para identificar o complexo M. tuberculosis no leite. Com a PRA foi possível detectar com especificidade e sensibilidade a presença de M. bovis em até 10 UFC/mL de leite. A metodologia padronizada poderá auxiliar os métodos microbiológicos e bioquímicos tradicionalmente usados na identificação do bacilo em alimentos suspeitos de contaminação, como, por exemplo, o leite proveniente de animais suspeitos de infecção por M. bovis.Palavras-chaves: Análise de pe

Resumo

With the purpose of identifying management factors that may be influencing the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis under tropicalconditions, namely in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1632 cows were tested through the single cervical tuberculin test. A questionnairewas completed for each herd. A total of 207 positive reactions were observed, corresponding to 12.7% of the studied cattle. Themain factors observed that may be influencing the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis on those farms were the absence orreduced veterinary assistance and the herd size. The presence of adequate cattle houses and the highly intensive managementare also considered to be likely to influence the prevalence of the disease. Under tropical conditions, a tuberculosis controlprogram, in addition to the test-and-slaughter control method, should include an investigation of herd management practices totry to identify factors that are likely to influence the prevalence of the disease.