ENVIRONMENTAL MYCOBACTERIA IN IRELAND AS A SOURCE OF NONSPECIFIC SENSITIZATION TO TUBERCULINS

The environment of 16 farms in counties Clare, Cork and Donegal where persistently high incidence of non-specific tuberculin reactions occur red was examined for mycobacteria. Of 190 samples of moss, 37 samples of water and 13 samples of soil, 59 strains of slowly growing and 36 s trains of rapidly growing mycobacteria weve isolated and randomly test ed for the ability to provoke a non-specific reaction to bovine and av ian tuberculin. The majority of slowly growing mycobacteria, especiall y the recently isolated new species Mycobacterium hiberniae, were capa ble of inducing non-specific reactions to tuberculin when administrate d parenterally or orally. In Ireland, the bryophytes Hylocomium splend ens, Thuidium tamariscinum, and Breutclia chrysocoma are common in cat tle pastures and are rich sources of mycobacteria. Ingestion of large amounts of moss was observed when cattle grazed low vegetation on wint erage.