Beside its economic importance, caprine tuberculosis is a zoonotic disease caused bymembers of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, including Mycobacterium bovis, M.
caprae and M. tuberculosis. In the present work, fecal, milk and serum samples were
collected from 110 lactating adult goats. Attempts to culture mycobacteria from the milk
samples or to detect mycobacterial DNA revealed negative results. Meanwhile the presence
of mycobacterium bovis in four fecal samples could be observed when applying different
PCR systems directly on the fecal samples. In parallel, no antibodies against mycobacteria
could be detected in the sera when using the immunochromatographic rapid test. No
detectable Mycobacterium caprae bacilli, its DNA or specific antibodies, could be observed
in the 110 investigated goats. In conclusion, The present work is the first record of caprine
tuberculosis in Egypt and the role of the goats in the maintenance and spreading of M. bovis
in the environment was confirmed.