Is Mycobacterium bovis in the environment important for the persistence of bovine tuberculosis?

Mycobacterium bovis is the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle and wildlife. Direct aerosol contact is thought to be the primary route of infection between conspecifics, whereas indirect transmission via an environmental reservoir of M. bovis is generally perceived not to be a significant source for infection. Here, we report on the application of molecular technology (PCR) to quantify the prevalence of M. bovis in the environment and to explore its epidemiological significance. We show that the detectability of viable M. bovis at badger setts and latrines is strongly linked to the frequency of M. bovis excretion by infected badgers, and that putative M. bovis in the environment is prevalent on a large proportion of endemic cattle farms in Britain. These results raise important questions about the role of an environmental reservoir in bTB persistence.

Immunomagnetic recovery of Mycobacterium bovis from naturally infected environmental samples.

AIMS: To adapt an immunomagnetic capture (IMC) technique to concentrate and cultivate Mycobacterium bovis from environmental samples including soil, faeces and urine. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cells of Myco. bovis BCG and wild-type Myco. bovis were successfully isolated and cultured from seeded and naturally infected materials respectively. The IMC cell recovery estimated by colony forming units (CFUs) counts ranged from 0.10% to 0.16% for spiked media, and 0.15-0.36% for naturally infected soil and faeces. Recovery estimated by cell counts calculated using semi-quantitative PCR ranged from 80.3% to 88.6% for spiked and 84.1-88.2% for naturally infected material. The differences in the recovery rates estimated by CFUs compared with pixel intensity is likely to be due to clustering of cells on culture plates, thereby underestimating the true cell count. CONCLUSIONS: The IMC techniques can be applied to isolate viable wild type Myco. bovis from naturally contaminated environmental samples. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: Cultivation of Myco. bovis from environmental samples using traditional methods is extremely problematic. Here, we demonstrate a novel development of IMC techniques that will greatly facilitate the study of the organism in situ in order to assess its epidemiological importance in bovine tuberculosis persistence.

Gains on 9p are common genomic aberrations in idiopathic myelofibrosis: a comparative genomic hybridization study.

Ideopathic myelofibrosis (IMF) is a chronic myeloproliferative disorder resulting in bone marrow fibrosis as a consequence of growth factor release from clonal haematopoiesis. Conventional cytogenetic analysis identifies abnormalities in approximately a third of cases at diagnosis, although rarely uncovers unique, primary genetic events. We have used comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) to study 25 IMF cases and have compared the results with conventional cytogenetics. Metaphase cells were available for analysis in 13 cases, of which seven showed an abnormal karyotype. CGH chromosomal profiles showed imbalances in 21 of 25 cases. The most frequent aberrations were gains of 9p (12 cases), 2q (seven cases), 3p (seven cases), chromosome 4 (seven cases), 12q (seven cases), 13q (eight cases). The main losses were at 17q and occurred in six cases. The results for CGH and cytogenetics were matched for one case only. Investigation of IMF by CGH suggests that genomic aberrations are much more common than has been previously indicated by conventional cytogenetic analysis and occur in the majority of cases. Gains of 9p were the most frequent finding, occurring in 50% of patients and suggests that genes on 9p may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of IMF.