Comparison of techniques for measuring the local and systemic responses to tuberculin in cattle

Thermography of tuberculin skin reactions in cattle sensitized with Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium bovis, or Mycobacterium paratuberculosis was rapid and sensitive, but was not as specifically related to the homologous sensitization as was increased skin thickness at 48 and 72 hours. Systemic temperature responses were more completely monitored by radiotelemetry of intraperitoneally located temperature transmitters than by rectal thermometry, but the temperatures indicated by the 2 methods were nearly identical. The intraperitoneal transmitters showed that the systemic responses consisted of 1, 2, or 3 temperature peaks, and in 1 animal which had previously been exposed to a heterologous tuberculin, a hypothermic response developed. The systemic temperature responses were more specifically related to homologous sensitization than were dermal responses, but were more cumbersome to measure.