Route of Infection and Transmission Between Individuals

Animals are most commonly infected through the faecal-oral route: by ingestion of contami­nated milk or food products or by accidental ingestion of the organism from contaminated surfaces (Harris and Barletta, 2001). MAP can be excreted in colostrum and milk (Streeter et al., 1995), and MAP has been detected by poly­merase chain reaction (PCR) in raw goat milk (Djonne et al., 2003). In utero infection has been shown to occur in goats (Alinovi et al., 2009). Spreading of MAP between flocks is usually due to trading of animals with unknown infection, but spread due to contaminated faeces on pas­tures also occurs (Radostits et al., 2007).

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