The phage-based test is said to have detected viable mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) in 10.3% of the 386 samples of retail purchased pasteurised milk.

PBD Biotech CEO Dr Berwyn Clarke said: “We now have a new research tool at our fingertips that can rapidly detect the presence of MAP in all tissue and fluid at very high sensitivity, providing a real opportunity to improve our understanding of this mycobacteria and its associated diseases.”

Research indicates MAP can withstand pasteurisation

 

Published in November 2017,  this comprehensive and technical paper by Collins et al discusses the need for a highly efficacious live-attenuated vaccine capable of differentiating infected from vaccinated animals. It describes the potential link with Crohn’s disease and other human diseases which make MAP a concern as a zoonotic pathogen. It also references this website in describing the effect of MAP on the gut.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2017.00187/full

 

Announcing the launch of World MAP Day on 15th March: a day to spread awareness about Mycobacterium Avium subspecies Paratuberculosis (MAP). Read more about the highly successful pathogen called MAP – and why this special day was chosen here.

If you are a Facebook or Twitter user, you might also like to sign up for our Thunderclap message, scheduled to go out on social media platforms on 15th March at 7am. You can find the link here.

And if you are not on social media, please share news of World MAP Day in any way that you can.

Thank you.

The Crohn’s MAP Vaccine team

 

 

The incidence rate of Crohn’s disease in Bahrain is comparable to the U.S.A and has increased for men and women in all age groups. In this paper by Zayyani et al, Crohn’s disease clusters were common among families and included up to 3 generations consistent with presence of a common source or common genetic factors.

https://academic.oup.com/ibdjournal/article/23/2/304/4347190

 

The data described by Naser et al in this recent paper suggest that genetic polymorphisms may play vital role in T-cell regulation, susceptibility to mycobacteria and ultimately response to treatment. This is the first study to report the detection of MAP DNA in the blood of RA patients; further studies are needed using larger number of samples.

 

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2018.00011/abstract

 

“Current vaccines cannot distinguish vaccinated from infected animals, thus compromising JD diagnostic tests (80), and strain 316F was generated in the 1920s by random attenuation procedures …. that are only now being investigated (81). In the final analysis, a vaccine of high efficacy is needed to significantly control JD (82).”

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2017.00187/full

Collins et al (Nov 2017)