<http://lib.bioinfo.pl/auid:56808>

Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 Apr ;71 (4):2130-9 15812047 (P,S,E,B) Cited:3

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the catchment area and
water of the River Taff in South Wales, United Kingdom, and its potential
relationship to clustering of Crohn's disease cases in the city of Cardiff.

R W Pickup, G Rhodes, S Arnott, K Sidi-Boumedine, T J Bull, A Weightman, M
Hurley, J Hermon-Taylor
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Library Ave., Bailrigg, Lancaster LA21
4AP, United Kingdom. roger@...

In South Wales, United Kingdom, a populated coastal region lies beneath
hill pastures grazed by livestock in which Mycobacterium avium subsp.
paratuberculosis is endemic. The Taff is a spate river running off the
hills and through the principal city of Cardiff. We sampled Taff water
above Cardiff twice weekly from November 2001 to November 2002. M. avium
subsp. paratuberculosis was detected by IS900 PCR and culture. Thirty-one
of 96 daily samples (32.3%) were IS900 PCR positive, and 12 grew M. avium
subsp. paratuberculosis bovine strains. Amplicon sequences from colonies
were identical to the sequence with GenBank accession no. X16293, whereas
16 of 19 sequences from river water DNA extracts had a single-nucleotide
polymorphism at position 214. This is consistent with a different strain
of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the river, which is unculturable by
the methods we used. Parallel studies showed that M. avium subsp.
paratuberculosis remained culturable in lake water microcosms for 632 days
and persisted to 841 days. Of four reservoirs controlling the catchment
area of the Taff, M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis was present in surface
sediments from three and in sediment cores from two, consistent with
deposition over at least 50 years. Previous epidemiological research in
Cardiff demonstrated a highly significant increase of Crohn's disease in
11 districts. These bordered the river except for a gap on the windward
side. A topographical relief map shows that this gap is directly opposite
a valley open to the prevailing southwesterly winds. This would influence
the distribution of aerosols carrying M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis
from the river.