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Comparison of Mycobacterium Avium Subsp. Paratuberculosis (MAP) Infection in Cattle, Sheep and Goats Following the Detection of Clinical Cases: Fact and Fiction


 Background: Paratuberculosis or Johne's disease, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), is chronic infectious granulomatous enteritis of ruminants, which has a worldwide occurrence. The most common symptoms of this disease in cattle are loss of milk production, weight loss, and diarrhea and in sheep and goats are emaciation, anorexia and sever disability. The aim of this study was to compare the seroprevalence of MAP in cattle, sheep and goats following the detection of clinical cases in Southwest of Iran. Blood samples were randomly collected from 530 cattle, 568 sheep and 368 goats in Southwest of Iran. Sera were tested by a commercial ELISA kit for detection of antibodies to MAP. Results: Overall apparent and true seroprevalence rate of MAP was 6% (95% CI: 4.9 – 7.3 percent) and 11.36% (95% CI: 9.87 – 13.07 percent), respectively. Apparent and true seroprevalence of MAP were 4.34% (95% CI: 2.88 – 6.46 percent) and 7.59% (95% CI: 5.61 – 10.19 percent), respectively in cattle, 6.87% (95% CI: 5.05 – 9.27 percent) and 13.34% (95% CI: 10.78 – 16.4 percent), respectively in sheep, and 7.07 %( 95% CI: 4.82 – 10.18 percent) and 13.68% (95% CI: 10.52 – 17.58 percent), respectively in goats. As a result, there was no significant relationship between species and MAP infection. Moreover, multivariate logistic regression showed that the infection rate is not associated with age, gender, and geographical location in cattle, sheep and goats (P>0.05). Conclusions: This study confirms that the seroprevalence of MAP following the detection of clinical cases is considerable in the cattle, sheep and goats in Southwest of Iran, although in cattle it is less than goats and sheep. Therefore, preventive and control measures should be considered by animal health authorities and meat and dairy processing units.