Occurrence of bovine tuberculosis at Nyala abattoirs in South Darfur State, Sudan

Summary The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of tuberculosis in cattle slaughtered at Nyala abattoirs, South Darfur State, Sudan during the period April 2006 - May 2008. In total 2794 cattle were examined for tuberculous lesions. Tuberculous lesions (n = 163) were found in 40 (1.4%) animals, among which seven had generalized tuberculosis and 33 localized tubercu- losis, mainly in the lungs, thoracic lymph nodes, and/or in the liver, spleen, kidneys and mesenteric lymph nodes. Tissue samples were collected either in 10% formal saline for routine histopathology or in ice packs for direct micros- copy and culturing. Direct microscopy showed that 124 (76.1%) tuberculous lesions harbored acid fast bacilli, whereas 17 (10.4%) isolates of Mycobac- terium spp. were recovered in pure Lowenstein-Jensen medium cultures and identified as M. bovis (n = 11) and M. farcinogenes (n = 6). Granulomatous inflammation was evident in all sections of tuberculous lesions. Further stud- ies are needed to identify mycobacteria species causing tuberculosis in other animal species.