MYCOBACTERIUM-PARATUBERCULOSIS - A POTENTIAL FOOD-BORNE PATHOGEN

Mycobacterium paratuberculosis commonly infects dairy cattle, leading to Johne's disease, which is also known as paratuberculosis. The infec tion is chronic, progressive, and incurable. As the infection progress es, excretion of M. paratuberculosis in feces and milk occurs, and the bacterium spreads through the blood to multiple internal organs. Cons equently, raw products originating from cattle may harbor M. paratuber culosis. Thermal treatments, such as pasteurization, are commonly reli ed on to kill foodborne bacterial pathogens that can infect humans. Th e small number of studies conducted to determine the thermal resistanc e of M. paratuberculosis suggest that it is less susceptible to destru ction by heat killing than are milkborne zoonotic bacterial pathogens such as Listeria spp. or Mycobacterium bovis. Published reports concer ning the thermal resistance of M. paratuberculosis in milk are reviewe d herein, and key issues concerning the efficacy of pasteurization for elimination of M. paratuberculosis from milk are summarized.