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PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON MYCOBACTERIUM SPP. IN DAIRY CATTLE IN ECUADOR

This study evaluated bovine tuberculosis in Mejia canton, a major dairy cattle production region in Ecuador. Randomly selected cattle (1,012 from 59 farms) classified according to herd size were tested by the single tuberculin test (STT). Sixty days later, positive reactors were tested again by the comparative tuberculin test (CTT). In addition, tissue samples from two STT-CTT-positive reactors detected on a farm were obtained in a local slaughterhouse and analyzed bacteriologically. A total of 4.24% of the cattle were positive in the STT and 3.85% were positive in the CTT, with the highest number (7.95%) in large herds versus 3.4% in medium herds and 0.3% in small herds. Mycobacterium bovis was isolated from mesenteric lymph nodes and lungs of one animal. A 16S ribosomal RNA-based polymerase chain reaction confirmed culture results and differentiated mycobacteria other than M. tuberculosis. This study confirms the zoonotic importance of tuberculosis in Ecuadorian dairy cattle with herd size likely to be a crucial parameter in the prevalence of the disease. The implementation of a national control program is necessary and should be based on the detection of positive cattle by STT in combination with CTT.

Received June 23, 2005. Accepted for publication September 28, 2005.

Acknowledgments: We thank the cattle owners, farm workers, and staff members of the slaughterhouse of the Mejia canton for their assistance and willingness to participate in the study.

Financial support: This study was supported by the Damien Foundation, Belgium, and the Directorate General for Development and Coordination–Institute of Tropical Medicine agreement joint research project 96122.

^* Address correspondence to Françoise Portaels, Department of Microbiology, Unit Mycobacteriology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 155 Nationalestraat, B-2000 Antwerp, Belguim. E-mail: portaels{at}itg.be

Authors’ addresses: Freddy Proaño-Perez, Jorge Ron, Maria-Augusta Chavez, Richar Rodriguez, and Washington Benitez-Ortiz, International Centre for Zoonoses, Central University of Ecuador, Ciudadela Universitaria, Casillero Postal 17-03-100, Quito, Ecuador, E-mails: fproanio-ciz{at}ac.uce.edu.ec, jron-ciz{at}uce.edu.ec, mchavez-ciz{at}ac.uce.edu.ec, rrodriguez-ciz{at}ac.uce.edu.ec, and wbenitez-ciz{at}ac.uce.edu.ec. Leen Rigouts, Krista Fissette, Anita van Aerde, and Françoise Portaels, Department of Microbiology, Unit Mycobacteriology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 155 Nationalestraat, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium, E-mails: lrigouts{at}itg.be, kfissette{at}itg.be, avaerde{at}itg.be, and portaels{at}itg.be. Jef Brandt and Pierre Dorny, Department of Animal Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 155 Nationalestraat, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium, E-mails: jbrandt{at}itg.be and pdorny{at}itg.be.

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