Modeling the Effect of Direct and Indirect Contamination of On-Farm Bulk Tank Milk with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis

Quantitative Risk Assessment of Exposure to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) via Different Types of Milk for the Slovenian Consumer

This study aimed to assess the risk of exposure to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) via milk for the Slovenian consumer. MAP is suspected to be associated with several diseases in humans, therefore the risk of exposure should be better understood. The primary source of MAP for humans is thought to be cattle, in which MAP causes paratuberculosis or Johne’s disease. We developed a stochastic quantitative risk assessment model using Monte Carlo simulations. Considering the assumptions and uncertainties, we estimated the overall risk of exposure to MAP via milk to be low. For people consuming raw milk from MAP positive farms, the risk was high. On-farm pasteurisation reduced the risk considerably, but not completely. The risk of exposure via pasteurised retail milk was most likely insignificant. However, with a higher paratuberculosis prevalence the risk would also increase. Given the popularity of raw milk vending machines and homemade dairy products, this risk should not be ignored. To reduce the risk, consumers should heat raw milk before consumption. To prevent a potential public health scare and safeguard farmers’ livelihoods, a reduction in paratuberculosis prevalence should be sought. Our results show that culling clinically infected cows was insufficient to reduce milk contamination with MAP.

Phagomagnetic separation-quantitative PCR: A rapid, sensitive and specific surveillance tool for viable Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis in bulk tank and individual cow milk samples

Bulk tank milk samples from 392 Northern Ireland dairy farms and individual milk from animals (n = 293) on 4 of these farms were tested by a novel phagomagnetic separation (PhMS)-quantitative (q)PCR assay able to detect and quantify viable Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP), to demonstrate its potential utility as a milk surveillance tool. Viable MAP were detected in 26.5% of the bulk tank milks, with MAP contamination levels ranging from 1 to 8,432 MAP/50 mL of milk; less than 2% of farms had MAP contamination levels >100 MAP/50 mL in their bulk tank milk. Follow-up PhMS-qPCR testing of milk from individual animals on 4 farms that had the highest numbers of MAP in their bulk tank milks indicated that 17 to 24% of animals in each herd were shedding viable MAP in their milk. Mean MAP numbers detected ranged between 6.7 and 42.1 MAP/50 mL of milk. No significant correlation was observed between the detection of viable MAP in bulk or individual milks by PhMS-qPCR and parallel milk ELISA results, or between PhMS-qPCR results and any other milk recording results (somatic cell count, total bacterial count, % butterfat, or % protein). Viable MAP was detected by IS900 qPCR in 52 (85.2%) Pozzato broth cultures of 61 PhMS-qPCR-positive individual milks after 12 wk of incubation, suggesting few PhMS-qPCR results were false positives. The mean sensitivities of the PhMS-qPCR assay and milk ELISA applied to individual milks were estimated by Bayesian latent class analysis to be 0.7096 and 0.2665, respectively, and mean specificities were similar (0.9626 and 0.9509). Our findings clearly demonstrate that the novel PhMS-qPCR assay could be a useful milk surveillance tool for dairy processors, or a milk monitoring tool for Johne's disease control or milk quality assurance programs.

Development and validation of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay-a rapid and sensitive detection tool for Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in small ruminants

AIMS

The aim of this study was to design an assay for the identification of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) to be used in faeces and milk samples of small ruminants with a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) system, as a time-saving and user-friendly method in contrast to real-time PCR.

METHODS AND RESULTS

For the detection of MAP in milk and faeces of small ruminants, we developed a set of primers, specific for the target gene ISMap02. The analytical sensitivity of LAMP, when targeting ISMap02, showed a DNA detection limit of 10 fg μl^-1 . After performing spiking experiments with two MAP reference strains, DSM 44133 and ATCC 19698^T , the limit of detection, using the LAMP protocol described herein were 3·8 MAP CFU per ml milk and 12·5 MAP CFU per gram faeces. All LAMP results during the establishment of the assay were compared to those of the real-time PCR results. An internal amplification control was incorporated into the assay to exclude false-negative results produced and had no significant negative impact on the analytical sensitivity. Validation of the assay was confirmed by testing field samples of faeces and revising the results with real-time PCR.

CONCLUSION

Our study conducted the first MAP detection system with a LAMP targeting ISMap02. Due to the positive results we encourage the use of LAMP in combination with ISMap02, when detecting MAP in faeces samples, as an alternative to targeting other genes as f57 or IS900. Further research on MAP detection in different matrices like raw milk, tissue or sperm with this system is recommended.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study provides new achievements in MAP diagnostic. Especially small ruminants do not show signs of diarrhoea until the terminal stage of the illness. The greatest task in fighting MAP is to rule out animals, which shed MAP with faeces and milk before showing symptoms of Johne's disease. Worldwide there is a need to eradicate animals, which are low MAP shedders to stop the illness spreading in animal holdings. MAP detection with LAMP is time saving, easy to use, does not need expensive equipment, as, for example, PCR kits and can be used without access to laboratories. The target gene ISMap02 was shown to be a specific insertion element for MAP and is a reliable aim in future MAP detection studies.

Short communication: Investigation into Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis in pasteurized milk in Italy

This study investigated the presence of viable Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in pasteurized milk produced by Italian industrial dairy plants to verify the prediction of a previously performed risk assessment. The study analyzed 160 one-liter bottles of pasteurized milk from 2 dairy plants located in 2 different regions. Traditional cultural protocols were applied to 500mL of pasteurized milk for each sample. The investigation focused also on the pasteurization parameters and data on the microbiological characteristics of raw milk (total bacterial count) and pasteurized milk (Enterobacteriaceae and Listeria monocytogenes). No sample was positive for MAP, the pasteurization parameters complied with European Union legislation, and the microbiological analysis of raw and pasteurized milk showed good microbiological quality. The results show that a 7-log (or >7) reduction could be a plausible value for commercial pasteurization. The combination of hygiene practices at farm level and commercial pasteurization yield very low or absent levels of MAP contamination in pasteurized milk, suggesting that pasteurized milk is not a significant source of human exposure to MAP in the dairies investigated.

Thermal Inactivation of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Artificially Contaminated Milk by Direct Steam Injection

The efficiency of direct steam injection (DSI) at 105 °C for 3 s to inactivate Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in milk at a pilot-plant scale was investigated. Milk samples were artificially contaminated with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and also with cow fecal material naturally infected with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. We also tested milk artificially contaminated with Mycobacterium smegmatis as a candidate surrogate to compare thermal inactivation between M. smegmatis and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. Following the DSI process, no viable M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis or M. smegmatis was recovered using culture methods for both strains. For pure M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis cultures, a minimum reduction of 5.6 log10 was achieved with DSI, and a minimum reduction of 5.7 log10 was found with M. smegmatis. The minimum log10 reduction for wild-type M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis naturally present in feces was 3.3. In addition, 44 dairy and nondairy powdered infant formula (PIF) ingredients used during the manufacturing process of PIF were tested for an alternate source for M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and were found to be negative by quantitative PCR (qPCR). In conclusion, the results obtained from this study indicate that a >7-fold-log10 reduction of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in milk can be achieved with the applied DSI process.

IMPORTANCE

M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis is widespread in dairy herds in many countries. M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis is the causative agent of Johne's disease in cattle, and infected animals can directly or indirectly (i.e., fecal contamination) contaminate milk. Despite much research and debate, there is no conclusive evidence that M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis is a zoonotic bacterium, i.e., one that causes disease in humans. The presence of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis or its DNA has been reported in dairy products, including pasteurized milk, cheese, and infant formula. In light of this, it is appropriate to evaluate existing mitigation measures to inactivate M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in dairy products. The work conducted in this study describes the efficacy of direct steam injection, a thermal process commonly used in the dairy industry, to eliminate M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and a surrogate bacterium in milk, thus ensuring the absence of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in dairy products subject to these process conditions.