Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis K-10

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) is an obligate pathogenic bacterium in the genus Mycobacterium. It is often abbreviated M. paratuberculosis or M. avium ssp. paratuberculosis. It is the causative agent of Johne's disease, which affects ruminants such as cattle, and also perhaps the human disease Crohn's disease.
Recent studies have shown that MAP present in milk can survive pasteurization, which has raised human health concerns due to the widespread nature of MAP in modern dairy herds. MAP survival during pasteurization is dependent on the D72C-value of the strains present and their concentration in milk. It is heat resistant and is capable of sequestering itself inside white blood cells, which may contribute to its persistence in milk. It has also been reported to survive chlorination in municipal water supplies.
Even though MAP is hardy, it is slow growing and fastidious, which means it is difficult to culture. Many negative studies for MAP presence in living tissue, food, and water have used culture methods to determine whether the bacteria are present. MAP infections, like with most mycobacteria, are difficult to treat. It is not susceptible to antituberculosis drugs (which can generally kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis), but can only be treated with a combination of antibiotics such as rifabutin and a macrolide such as clarithromycin.