Detection of Mycobacterium bovis in Organs of Slaughtered Cattle by DNA-Based Polymerase Chain Reaction and Ziehl-Neelsen Techniques in Bauchi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic, infectious, and contagious zoonotic disease of domestic animals, wild animals, and humans. It alsoposesapublichealththreatandeconomiclosses.Thisstudywasaimedatdeterminingtheprevalenceofbovinetuberculosis in slaughtered cattle, based on PM meat inspection, Ziehl-Neelsen staining, and PCR techniques in Bauchi State, Nigeria. A Prospective study was conducted on 800 cattle slaughtered in the three Zonal abattoirs of Bauchi State, Nigeria. One hundred and twenty (15%) tissues from different organs had suspected bTB lesions at PM. Out of the samples examined 35 (29.2%) were AFB positive by ZN and 10(8.3%)were confirmed positive for M.bovis by PCR,with an overall prevalence of 29.16% and 8.33%, respectively. Female had a higher prevalence rate than male cattle at 16.66% and 12.5 % by ZN and 5.00% and 3.33% by PCR, respectively (𝑃 > 0.05, 𝜒2 = 0.218). However, there was a statistically significant association (𝑃 < 0.05, 𝜒2 = 7.002) between detectionof bTB and the age of cattle.ZN revealed that cattle aged 6 years and above had the highest number of positive bTB cases 67.9%,while cattle aged 3–5 years had the lowest 14.81%.PCR technique revealed that the cattle aged 6 and above years also had the highest percentage positive M.bovis cases of 22.84%,whereas cattle aged 3–5 years had the lowest and the overall prevalence rateof8.33%.The study found a high infection rate of bTB among cattle and majority of the lesions 54.2% were from lungs.The prevalence of bTB was higher in Bauchi metropolitan abattoir which supplies larger population of the state with beef.