[Role of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in bovine tuberculosis]

The authors report the results of a survey on the possible role of human Mycobacterium in the ganglio-pulmonary tuberculosis of bovines. 232 bovines seized in the abattoirs of Algiers over a period of 8 months were concerned by this work. The results obtained showed that microscopic examination was negative in 50% of cases. This result was expected as ganglionary lesions are paucibacillary. Cultures were also negative in 50% of cases, 25% of them were contaminated. 50% rate of positive cultures was obtained when Loewenstein-Jensen medium with 1% pyruvate was used. Morphological and biochemical identification showed that out of 113 strains, 7 were Mycobacterium tuberculosis (6.2%). In seems therefore that Mycobacterium tuberculosis, human pathogen, is also pathogenic for bovines. Its frequent occurrence could be explained by the high prevalence of human tuberculosis in Algeria.