Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis in wild boars in Korea

Abstract

Mycobacterium avium subsp. para-tuberculosis (MAP) causes chronic infectious enteritis in various domestic and wild mammals and is widely distributed globally. Interspe-cies transmission has been frequently report-ed. We investigated the presence of MAP from December 2010 to March 2011 in blood and feces collected from 222 hunter-killed wild boars. We collected 197 serum and 180 fecal samples and examined them by culture, PCR, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We investigated the status of MAP infection and the MAP genotypes in the wild boar population of Korea by using IS900 PCR and IS1311-restriction endonuclease analysis typing. Of the 180 fecal samples cultured, MAP colonies were recovered from two. By PCR, 18 animals were positive for MAP and one serum sample had a strong humoral response to MAP. The PCR-positive DNA samples from the colonies and the feces samples were genotyped as "cattle type" and "bison type," which are major MAP genotypes infecting domestic species in Korea. Our study provides new information on mycobac-terial infection among wild boars, and sug-gests that a more effective program should be developed to monitor mycobacterial infec-tions in wild animal populations in Korea. © Wildlife Disease Association 2013.