ISOLATION OF MYCOBACTERIA FROM LYMPH-NODE LESIONS IN DEER

A total of 14,842 farmed deer were slaughtered and examined postmortem in Irish abattoirs between January 1993 and September 1996, Lymph nod e lesions were detected in 119 deer and these were examined histopatho logically and cultured, A total of 115 of the lesions were characteris ed as tuberculous and, on culture, Mycobacterium avium was isolated fr om 49 of them, M bovis from 41, unclassified mycobacteria from five, a nd 20 of the tuberculous lesions did not field any isolate, Tubercles which yielded M avium on culture contained on average more acid-fast b acilli, more epithelioid macrophages and fewer Langhans giant cells th an tubercles from which M bovis was isolated, Twelve lesions from fera l deer culled from a national park were also examined and M bovis was isolated from nine.