Evaluation of radiometric faecal culture and direct PCR on pooled faeces for detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in cattle

Dilution rates for pooled faecal culture (PFC) and direct IS 900 polymerase chain reaction (D-PCR) tests were evaluated on faecal samples from infected cows mixed with uninfected faeces in dilutions from 1 in 5 to 1 in 50. PFC was performed by radiometric culture, with confirmation by IS 900 PCR and restriction endonuclease analysis (PCR/REA) on growth, and by mycobactin dependency testing on solid medium. Using 37 culture positive faecal samples from 12 subclinical cows, 83.8% and 94.6% of samples were confirmed positive in the PFC assay at dilutions of 1 in 50 and 1 in 30, respectively. Lower dilutions (1 in 5 to 1 in 20) provided only marginally better sensitivity, and confirmation of PFC growth by PCR/REA was significantly more sensitive than mycobactin dependency. D-PCR had significantly lower sensitivity than PFC confirmed by PCR/REA, with pools of 1 in 50, 30, 10 and 5 yielding positive results in 64.9%, 70.3%, 78.4% and 83.8% of samples, respectively. Cattle considered to be shedding 1.5 × 10 6 viable M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis ( Map)/g faeces (on the basis of estimated losses in processing and growth rates in radiometric broth) were positive at dilutions up to 1 in 50 in the PFC and D-PCR. Those shedding 5 × 10 5 viable Map/g were positive in the PFC at dilutions up to 1 in 40, but required a 1 in 10 dilution or less for D-PCR. The results suggest that for cattle shedding relatively high concentrations of Map in faeces (>2 × 10 5 viable Map/g), maximal dilutions of 1 in 30 for PFC and 1 in 10 for D-PCR would be applicable.