الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 130 |  |  |
| | | from | 130 | | |
Abstract
This study was focused on camel infection aiming to assess the prevalence of paratuberculosis infection among them and validity of different diagnostic methods. Ruminant ELISA test was used for the screening of 861 serum samples that were collected from three different age groups, 1-4 years (young age), 5-9 years (middle age) and 10-15 years (old age). Only 29 samples were revealed as ELISA positive from which 14 samples were from the young age group. PCR analysis was carried out mainly on the fecal samples that were collected from young age group and all the ELISA positive samples of other groups. PCR detected only 97 positive results out of 310 tested samples. PCR detected more positive samples in the young age group than ELISA (29% of 276 young age samples). The ELISA was proved to be effective as a screening tool for MAP infection in camel; however its sensitivity in the young group is skeptical. PCR on the other hand, is effective only as supportive test to the ELISA due to the great variations in the pattern of MAP shedding. Hence, ELISA and PCR were shown feasible for control of the MAP infection, but ELISA was not prudent in the early detection of the infection.
The extent and nature of the Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) shedding among young camels was studied. 450 fecal and serum samples were collected from young camel of age 1-5 years old. The PCR, ELISA, and fecal culture (Herrold’s medium tubes with Mycobactin J) were used to detect MAP. The number of the ELISA positive samples was only 39 (8.7%) out of 450 while the PCR results were 188 (41.8%), but the samples that were positive to both tests were only 29 (6.44%). In general, the results indicated that young camels shed MAP continuously with low tendency to develop infection. High level of positive PCR results probably reflects the capability of the young camels to recirculate MAP in their environment rather than succumb to its infection. However, although camels recirculate MAP in their environment, it could be proposed that wildlife animals could be the prime source of MAP contamination to the camel environment. Hence, MAP shedding in young camels does not necessarily mean that the animals are infected or they will develop infection