During the survey of paratuberculosis in cattle, sheep, goats and wild ruminants (red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, moufflon, wild goat), tissue samples of the small intestine and corresponding lymph nodes of 307 animals with Ziehl-Neelsen microscopy positive results were examined. In 251 heads of cattle M. paratuberculosis was isolated from 250 (99.6%) animals within 1.5 to 3 months of incubation ("relatively fast-growing" strains). On the contrary, from the rest of 56 other ruminant species 34 (60.7%) were found positive for M. paratuberculosis within 2 and 3 months of incubation and within 4 and 9 months of incubation ("relatively slow-growing" strains). More than 50% of these isolated strains has grown between the upper limit (4 - 9 months). Tissue culture was negative in 9 (100%) moufflons, 2 (50.0%) fallow deer, 1 (25.0%) red deer, 8 (25.8%) sheep, in non of 5 goats and in 2 (66.6%) wild goat. Any relationship between occurrence of uncultivable strains of M. paratuberculosis strains and age or sex of ruminants was not revealed. A total of 12 "relatively slow-growing" strains isolated from sheep, domestic and wild goats were examined by standardised RFLP analysis. Four RFLP types were identified of cattle strains (n=11): A-C10, B-C1, B-C2, and E-C1 and one RFLP type was found in sheep strain (n=1): C-S1. No relationship was observed among RFLP types of above mentioned 12 "relatively slow-growing" strains and 1 500 "relatively fast-growing" strains in our database.

Supported by the grants No. QLRT - 2000 - 00879 Brussels, EC, QD1191 Min. of Agriculture, Czech Republic and No. J13/98-1160002 MSMT, Czech Republic.