Identification of clonal complexes of Mycobacterium bovis in Brazil.

Bovine tuberculosis is a disease that is widely distributed around the world. Its causative agent, Mycobacterium bovis, has characteristics of a microorganism with clonal multiplication in populations with no evidence of genetic exchange between strains, and, consequently, a group of strains can be identified as descending from a common ancestor. The aim of this study was to investigate the clonal complexes of M. bovis isolated from samples of lesions suggestive of bovine tuberculosis collected from slaughterhouses in various states of Brazil between 2006 and 2012. Ninety samples were analyzed, and it was found that 14.4% belonged to the clonal complex European1 and 81.1% to the clonal complex European2, while 4.65% were not identified as any of the four known complexes.

Evaluation of post-mortem diagnostic tests' sensitivity and specificity for bovine tuberculosis using Bayesian latent class analysis.

This study aimed to evaluate the performance of real-time PCR (qPCR), ELISA IDEXX™, and bacterial isolation as post-mortem diagnostic tests in animals with lesions compatible with bovine tuberculosis detected by Brazilian Federal Inspection Service as part of the bovine tuberculosis active surveillance. Bayesian latent class models were used to estimate diagnostic tests' sensitivity, specificity, correlations, predictive values and frequency of infected animals. Samples of tuberculosis-suggestive lesions collected by FIS sanitary inspection routine in slaughterhouses from 11 Brazilian states were analyzed. Isolation was the most sensitive technique, 94.54% (95% Credible Interval (CrI) 90.09%-97.65%), qPCR was 64.69% (95% CrI 54.41%-74.15%) sensitive and ELISA IDEXX™ 26.74% (95% CrI 22.82%-30.97%). Tests' specificities were 98.19% (95% CrI 95.75%-99.45%), 93.49% (95% CrI 79.28%-99.66%), 95.53% (95% CrI 91.71%-98.02%) respectively. Despite its low sensitivity, ELISA IDEXX™ was able to identify positive samples that were not detected by the other techniques. These samples had high probability to be true positives given ELISA's positive predictive value. The correlations between qPCR and isolation were neither biologically nor statistically significant. The low sensitivity of the qPCR is a limiting factor to its use as a post-mortem diagnosis in bovine tuberculosis suggestive lesions. Its use could be recommended in situations of high prevalence, or in parallel association with other tests, such as ELISA IDEXX™. ELISA IDDEX™ should not be used as a unique test, or in substitution of the other tests, for the post-mortem diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis due to its sensitivity.

Evaluation of molecular markers for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) comprises a group of bacteria that have a high degree of genetic similarity. Two species in this group, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis, are the main cause of human and bovine tuberculosis, respectively. M. bovis has a broader host range that includes humans; thus, the differentiation of mycobacterium is of great importance for epidemiological and public health considerations and to optimize treatment. The current study aimed to evaluate primers and molecular markers described in the literature to differentiate M. bovis and M. tuberculosis by PCR. Primers JB21/22, frequently cited in scientific literature, presented in our study the highest number of errors to identify M. bovis or M. tuberculosis (73%) and primers Mb.400, designed to flank region of difference 4 (RD4), were considered the most efficient (detected all M. bovis tested and did not detect any M. tuberculosis tested). Although also designed to flank RD4, primers Mb.115 misidentified eight samples due to primer design problems. The results showed that RD4 is the ideal region to differentiate M. bovis from other bacteria classified in MTC, but primer design should be considered carefully.

Draft Genome Sequence of Mycobacterium bovis Strain AN5, Used for Production of Purified Protein Derivative.

Mycobacterium bovis strain AN5 has been used to produce purified protein derivative (PPD) for the intradermal test for bovine tuberculosis since it was introduced in 1948. This work reports the draft genome sequence of M. bovis AN5, which is used for the production of bovine PPD in Brazil, as well as comparisons to other strains of M. bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Comparative study of Mycobacterium bovis primary isolation methods

Abstract For the definitive diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis, isolation of the etiologic agent is required. However, there is no consensus on the best methodology for isolation of Mycobacterium bovis in Brazil. This study evaluated the most used decontaminants and culture media in the country, in order to identify the best combination for the Brazilian samples. Three decontaminants - 2% sodium hydroxide (w/v), 0.75% hexadecylpiridinium chloride (w/v) and 5% sulphuric acid (v/v) and four culture media - 7H11 Middlebrook with additives and OADC supplement “A” (7H11 A), the same media with another supplement trademark (7H11 B), tuberculosis blood agar (B83) and Stonebrink's medium were compared. Regarding the isolation, there were no significant differences between the decontaminants and media combinations, except 7H11A combined to any decontaminant. However, the mean colonies score was significantly greater when the samples were decontaminated with 5% sulphuric acid and inoculated in 7H11 B or SB, without significant difference between them, although colonies appeared earlier on 7H11B than on SB. The trademark of OADC supplement influenced the isolation rate and the number of isolated colonies in Middlebrook 7H11. An incubation time of four weeks was required to detect all positive samples in 7H11 B after decontamination with 5% sulphuric acid but there was an increase in the number of colonies until the sixth week of incubation. Overall, the best strategy for the primary isolation of M. bovis from Brazilian samples was the decontamination with 5% sulphuric acid (final concentration) and inoculation in Middlebrook 7H11 medium formulated with OADC supplement “B”.

Comparison of nine DNA extraction methods for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis by real time PCR / Comparação de nove métodos de extração de DNA para diagnóstico de tuberculose bovina por PCR em tempo real

ABSTRACT: Bovine tuberculosis is an infectious disease with a high impact on the cattle industry, particularly in developing countries. PCR is a very sensitive method for detection of infectious agents, but the sensitivity of molecular diagnosis is largely dependent on the efficiency of the DNA extraction methods. The objective of this study was to evaluate DNA extraction methods for direct detection of Mycobacterium bovis in bovine tissue. Nine commercial kits for DNA extraction were evaluated when combined with two real time PCRs. The DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit from QIAGEN showed better performance and sensitivity followed by the DNA Mini Kit RBC and FTA Elute Micro Card. Results suggested that, even when the analytical sensitivity of the qPCR is very high, the extraction method can influence the diagnostic sensitivity.

RESUMO: A tuberculose bovina é uma doença infecciosa com um alto impacto na pecuária, particularmente em países em desenvolvimento. A PCR é um método muito sensível para a detecção de agentes infecciosos, mas a sensibilidade do diagnóstico molecular é em grande parte dependente da eficiência dos métodos de extração de DNA. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar métodos de extração de DNA para detecção direta de Mycobacterium bovisem tecido bovino. Nove kits comerciais para extração de DNA foram avaliados, quando combinados com duas PCRs em tempo real. O Kit Dneasy Blood & Tissue da Qiagen apresentou melhor desempenho e sensibilidade, seguido dos kits DNA Mini RBC e FTA Elute Micro Card (protocolo modificado com digestão enzimática prévia). Os resultados sugerem que, mesmo quando a sensibilidade analítica do qPCR é muito elevada, o método de extração pode influenciar na sensibilidade de diagnóstico.