Comparison of four different culture media for growth of Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium isolated from naturally infected lofts of domestic pigeons

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Diagnosis of avian tuberculosis by conventional culture method is still considered as the “gold standard” technique. The main objective of this study was to compare growth of Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium on four specific Mycobacterial cultures such as glycerinated Lowenstein-Jensen medium, pyruvate-enriched Lowenstein-Jensen medium, mycobactin J-supplemented Herrold-egg yolk medium and plain Herrold-egg yolk medium MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty out of more than 600 pigeons were selected based on their clinical signs and poor health conditions. The birds were numbered and their clinical signs were registered in the working sheets, and under standard condi-tion, euthanized, subjecting to necropsy examinations, followed by bacterial culture on four specific media for Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium, including glycerinated Lowenstein-Jensen (LJG) medium, pyruvate-enriched Lowenstein-Jensen medium (LJP), mycobactin J-supplemented Herrold-egg yolk medium and plain Herrold-egg yolk medium. RESULTS: Fifty one Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium were isolated from pigeons. Mycobactin J-supplemented Herrold-egg yolk media yielded greater number of colonies in shorter incubation time in compare with other media. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that most of the isolates need mycobactin as a growth factor.