This recent paper from pathologist Ellen Pierce describes links between MAP and brain tumours.
An increased rate of brain cancers has been noted in livestock farmers in Western countries. Some researchers have suggested that a zoonotic virus or bacteria present in the livestock animal’s feces or manure may be a possible etiologic factor. Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), the cause of a chronic enteropathy in domestic livestock and a probable zoonosis, is heavily excreted in an infected animal’s feces or manure, contaminating soil and ground on the animal’s farm. Once excreted in an animal’s feces, MAP lasts indefinitely in a dormant but viable form, and easily spreads outside farms to the surrounding environment. MAP’s presence throughout the soil in countries where MAP infection of domestic livestock is extensive and long-standing may explain the increased rates of glioblastoma in tennis and baseball players who handle balls coated with MAP-contaminated dirt.
Read the article here.