Isolation and identification of Mycobacterium bovis in milk from cows in northeastern Brazil

Isolamento e identificação de Mycobacterium bovis em leite de vacas no Nordeste do Brasil

ABSTRACT:

Milk samples from 16 cows that tested positive on the tuberculin test in the state of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil, were used for mycobacteria isolation and identification. Mycobacteria were isolated from five (31.25%) of the 16 milk samples; three samples were classified asM. bovis, and two as belonging to theMycobacterium genus. This is probably the first study of isolation and identification ofM. bovis in milk from cows in Northeastern Brazil, which suggests that humans are at risk of contamination by ingestion.

Key words:
Mycobacterium bovis; isolation; milk; PCR; cattle