Identification of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis by Polymerase Chain Reaction in Blood and Semen of a Bull with Clinical Paratuberculosis

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis was identified by nested polymerase chain reaction in the blood and semen of a 4year-old Holstein breeding bull that exhibited clinical signs of paratuberculosis and was serologically positive for the organism by agar gel immunodiffusion and ELISA, although three fecal cultures were negative for the organism. The animal subsequently died, but a necropsy could not be performed for collection of tissues for histopathologic confirmation of the presence of the organism. M. avium subsp paratuberculosis may disseminate hematogenously to the male reproductive tract and semen as an extraintestinal site and agent reservoir.

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