Mycobacterium aviumsubsp. paratuberculosis isolated from wild red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Northern Italy

• Published in: Veterinary microbiology 2018-04, Vol.217, p.167-172
• Main Authors: Galiero, Alessia, Leo, Simone, Garbarino, Chiara, Arrigoni, Norma, Russo, Simone, Giacomelli, Stefano, Bianchi, Alessandro, Trevisiol, Karin, Idrizi, Ilda, Daka, Gezim, Fratini, Filippo, Turchi, Barbara, Cerri, Domenico, Ricchi, Matteo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal diseases; Cervus elaphus; Culling; Culture; Deer; Disease transmission; Genotype; Genotype & phenotype; Genotypes; Infectious diseases; National parks; Paratuberculosis; PCR; Red deer; Wildlife
• ISSN: 0378-1135; 1873-2542
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2018.03.015

•Cervus elaphus population from Lombardy and Bolzano areas was analyzed by qPCR for paratuberculosis.•20.16% samples from the Lombardy and 18.63% from the Bolzano areas resulted PCR positive.•Cultural test was carried out on qPCR positive samples enabling to isolate 19 MAP field strains.•All MAP isolates resulted as type C by allele specific PCR.•Mini- and Micro-satellite loci analysis revealed the presence a unique genotype, INMV1. Paratuberculosis (or Johne’s disease) is an infectious disease which affects mainly ruminants and it is caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). During a culling program (years 2011–2015) aimed at controlling the red deer (Cervus elaphus) population in Stelvio National Park (Italian Alps), where paratuberculosis was already described in this species, 382 tissue samples from the Lombardy Region and 102 fecal specimens from the Autonomous Province of Bolzano were analyzed by PCR. Of these, 77 samples (20.16%) from the Lombardy area and 19 specimens (18.63%) from the Bolzano area resulted PCR positive. The cultural test was carried out on PCR positive samples (n = 96), enabling the isolation of 19 MAP field strains which were genotyped using MIRU-VNTR typing and Short Sequence repeats (SSRs). Our results suggest that all isolates share an identical VNTR profile corresponding to the INMV1 genotype. The only variation was on the locus SSR2, but the utility of this last locus has already been questioned because of its instability. Overall, these data suggest a common clonal origin and host adaptation during the diffusion of paratuberculosis in this population. Finally, this profile is the same as that which has already been described in the cattle population in Northern Italy, suggesting a possible inter-species disease transmission pattern from wildlife to domestic ruminants and vice versa.