Utility of a fecal real-time PCR protocol for detection of Mycobacterium bovis infection in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer).

A real-time PCR protocol for detecting Mycobacterium bovis in feces was evaluated in bovine tuberculosis infected African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). Fecal samples spiked with 1.42X10(3) cells of M. bovis culture/g and Bacille Calmette-Guerin standards with 1.58x10(1) genome copies/well were positive by real-time PCR but all field samples were negative.