Utilisation of Actiphage in combination with IS900 qPCR as a diagnostic tool for rapid determination of paratuberculosis infection status in small ruminant herds

Abstract

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the causative agent of paratuberculosis, a chronic infectious intestinal disease occurring in domestic and wild ruminants. Early diagnosis of infected herds enabling timely adoption of control measures is tremendously important in view of the fact that the disease has a significant economic impact on farmers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of rapid detection of viable MAP on small ruminant farms based on environmental sample examination using a novel phage-based test named Actiphage.

Keywords

• actiphage-qpcr
• environmental samples
• mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis
• phage amplification assay
• small ruminants.