Isolation and Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex from rodents of infected cattle husbandry

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the agent of tuberculosis, causes morbidity and mortality, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, DNA-fingerprinting tools have been developed to improve tuberculosis case detection and control. Molecular typing techniques allow to detect and follow M. tuberculosis complex. The aim of this work was to isolate and identify M. tuberculosis from rodents in cattle farms contaminated. A total of 100 samples were collected from the rodents in the contaminated farms and analyzed for the presence of Mycobacterium by growing the samples on Lowenstein-Jensen medium. Identity of its were determined by PCR and 16SrRNA, IS6110 and RD typing test. Further differentiation was performed with PvuII digestion and DNA hybridization using the polymorphic guanine/ cytosine-rich repetitive sequences (PGRS) probe. As much as five samples showed the presence of Mycobacterium. The PGRS probe results classified two of the isolates as belonging to one cluster, whereas the remaining isolates were classified as belonging to different clusters. An analysis of the obtained genetic pattern and a comparison of these patterns with the genetic pattern of other infected farms allowed us to record the similarities and difference. The results indicated the transmission of Mycobacterium from infected rodents to the cows located in the same farm. These results highlight the possible danger of transmission of Mycobacterium among animals.