Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is not discerned in diabetes mellitus patients in Hyderabad, India

Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is an obligate intracellular pathogen. It causes chronic intestinal inflammation in ruminants known as Johne's disease and is associated with human Crohn's disease. Furthermore, association of MAP with other autoimmune diseases, such as type-1 diabetes, has been established in patients from Sardinia (Italy) which is a MAP endemic and genetically isolated region. Due to largest livestock population and consequently high MAP prevalence amidst a very high diabetes incidence in India, we sought to test this association on a limited number of patient samples from Hyderabad. Our results of ELISA with MAP lysate and MAP-specific protein MAP3738c as well as PCR/real-time PCR of MAP-specific sequences IS900 and/or f57 indicated that, in contrast to Sardinian diabetic patients, MAP infection in blood is not discerned in diabetic patients in Hyderabad. The association of a mycobacterial trigger with diabetes therefore could well be a population-specific phenomenon, highly dependent on genetic repertoire and the environment of susceptible populations. However, a larger study is needed in order to confirm this.