Histopathological and Serological Studies on
Paratuberculosis in Cattle and Buffaloes
Arbab Sikandar*, AH Cheema1, M Younus2, A
Aslam1, MA Zaman2 and T Rehman3
Department of Anatomy and Histology, College of Veterinary and
Animal Sciences, Jhang; 1Department of Pathology,
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore; 2Department
of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Jhang;
3Department of Parasitology, University of Agriculture,
Faisalabad, Pakistan
*Corresponding Author: drarbab786@gmail.com
Abstract
Paratuberculosis (Johne’s diseases) is responsible for massive economic losses
to dairy industry, both in the industrially advanced as well as in the
developing countries. To detect its occurrence in cattle and buffaloes locally,
blood and tissue samples from clinically weak and grossly suspected slaughtered
animals were collected from two abattoirs of Jhang, municipal area, Pakistan. Acid-fast smear staining,
gross/histopathology and indirect ELISA was done for the detection of
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP).Total 134 samples illustrating gross pathological lesions were collected,
only 11.19% (cattle: 6.67%, buffaloes: 12.5%) showed acid fast bacilli through
smear staining and were taken as confirmed cases. Thickening of intestines alone
was not a reliable indicator of Johne’s disease. Tissue sections from intestines
and mesenteric lymph nodes from these acid fast positive animals were stained
with hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) and Ziehl Neelsen (ZN) methods. Sum of (15/134)
impression smear staining as well as (15/15) tissue sections of the intestines
were found ZN positive, and only 6.7%of
impression smears and 100% of tissue sections of mesenteric lymph nodes showed
acid fast bacilli. Through ELISA, two cattle and five buffaloes (07/134) gave
positive optical densities, while one cattle and seven buffaloes (08/134) were
judged as doubtful. It is concluded that infection of MAP can be identified by
histopathology and ELISA. The present study was the first record of
paratuberculosis among the dairy animals slaughtered at Jhang abattoirs. The
objective was to compare different methods for the diagnosis of Johne’s disease.