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Objectives: Tuberculosis (TB) affects humans and animals regardless of species type, causing huge economic losses and deaths worldwide. However, the mechanisms and risk factors of zoonotic transmission are not well known in Pakistan. The current study aimed to identify the potential risk factors associated with TB in farmers and their animals, particularly exposure to infected animals in Lahore District, Pakistan. Materials and Methods: The study consisted of two components utilizing the concept of One Health. In the first component, a retrospective case-control study of human subjects (cases = 25, control = 25) was conducted from December 2021 to July 2022. In the second component, a cross-sectional analysis of the cattle owned by selected participants (TB cases and healthy controls) was completed in the Lahore district. A single intradermal tuberculin skin test was used to determine TB infection in cattle. Results: A total of 25 TB cases and 25 healthy controls were enrolled. Males in cases were found (OR = 0.01, 95% CI: 0.0002–0.29, p = 0.014) less likely to get TB, cases older than 35 years (OR = 1.13 (95% CI: 1.05–1.24, p = 0.004), unmarried cases (OR = 32.20, 95% CI: 2.92–819.03, p = 0.014), being a smoker (OR = 21.87, 95% CI: 2.80–395.82, p = 0.011), and keeping animals inside the home (OR = 9.92, 95% CI: 1.29–134.61, p = 0.047) were identified as significant predictors of TB in humans in the final multivariable logistic regression. Out of 175 tested animals, 3/65 animals belonging to the cases and 1/110 animals belonging to the controls were found positive. The animals belonging to the TB cases were (OR = 7.76, 95% CI; 0.79–76.02) more likely to have a positive Single Comparative Intradermal Tuberculin Test. The prevalence of bTB in animals belonging to the cases was 4.6% (95% CI, 1.26–12.58) compared to 0.9% (95% CI, 0.04–4.67) in animals of the control group. Conclusion: This study identified potential risk factors that could contribute to the complex wave of TB transmission between humans and animals. Our findings could provide data to inform policy-making and intervention strategies to reduce TB’s burden in both populations. Embracing a holistic One Health perspective is imperative to effectively combat this shared health threat.

Background Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an important bacterial infectious disease in Albania of concern to animal and human health; its prevalence is poorly documented. Methods In this longitudinal study, we tested by ELISA 2661 serum samples, from 154 herds, with the aim of establishing the suitability of this approach to screen the bovine population for bTB. In a follow-on survey of 87 animals in three villages, we assessed the usefulness of the Mycobacterium bovis IDEXX ELISA (IDEXX M. bovis Antibody (Ab) Test. IDEXX Europe B.V P.O. Box 1334, 2130 EK Hoofddorp, The Netherlands) assay by comparing IDEXX results with the results of the single intradermal cervical skin test. Skin tests were performed either after or at the time of collection of blood samples, and therefore cattle were not sensitized by tuberculin before serological testing. Results The proportion of herds in which serologically positive cattle were found was 18.2 % (95 % CI, 1.9–25.8 %) and the prevalence of seropositive cattle was 1.4 % (95 % CI, 0.8–2.1 %). In the follow-up study, two of the 87 animals reacted positively to the skin test and two produced inconclusive reactions. No overlap was found between the four animals with positive IDEXX ELISA results and the four animals with non-negative skin test results. Conclusion The lack of agreement between the results of the two tests may reflect different elements of the immune response (humoral and cell-mediated immunity). In future, cattle should be sensitized by the intradermal injection of tuberculin 14 days prior to the collection of blood samples, which would then be tested by the Mycobacterium bovis IDEXX ELISA Test in order to determine more accurately the prevalence of infection.

Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) is the only currently available vaccine against tuberculosis (TB), but it confers incomplete and variable protection against pulmonary TB in humans and bovine TB (bTB) in cattle. Insights into the immune response induced by BCG offer an underexploited opportunity to gain knowledge that may inform the design of a more efficacious vaccine, which is urgently needed to control these major global epidemics. Humoral immunity in TB and bTB has been neglected, but recent studies supporting a role for antibodies in protection against TB has driven a growing interest in determining their relevance to vaccine development. In this manuscript we review what is known about the humoral immune response to BCG vaccination and re-vaccination across species, including evidence for the induction of specific B cells and antibodies; and how these may relate to protection from TB or bTB. We discuss potential explanations for often conflicting findings and consider how factors such as BCG strain, manufacturing methodology and route of administration influence the humoral response. As novel vaccination strategies include BCG prime-boost regimens, the literature regarding off-target immunomodulatory effects of BCG vaccination on non-specific humoral immunity is also reviewed. Overall, reported outcomes to date are inconsistent, but indicate that humoral responses are heterogeneous and may play different roles in different species, populations, or individual hosts. Further study is warranted to determine whether a new TB vaccine could benefit from the targeting of humoral as well as cell-mediated immunity.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) Danish strain 1331 (CattleBCG) is currently the lead vaccine candidate for the control of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in cattle in GB, where prior vaccination has shown to result in a significant reduction in bovine TB pathology induced by infection with Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis). A critical knowledge gap in our understanding of CattleBCG is the duration of immunity post vaccination at the minimum intended vaccine dose. To this end, we performed an experiment where calves were vaccinated with a targeted dose of 106 CFU and, after a period of 52 weeks, experimentally infected with M. bovis. Post mortem examination performed 13 weeks after infection revealed a statistically significant reduction in the severity of TB pathology in the CattleBCG vaccinated group compared with the unvaccinated control group. Additionally, this study allowed us to further assess the diagnostic performance of a defined antigen DIVA reagent (DST-F) developed to detect infected amongst vaccinated animals. Our results demonstrate that when used in a skin test format, DST-F showed high specificity (100 %) in BCG-vaccinated animals when tested prior to infection, whilst detecting all infected animals when re-tested after infection. Furthermore, we also present results supporting the use of the DST-F reagent in an interferon-gamma release assay. In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrate a 52-week duration of immunity following administration of a minimum dose of CattleBCG. This evidence will be a fundamental component in our efforts to apply for UK marketing authorisation to enable vaccination of cattle as a significant additional control measure in the ongoing fight against bovine TB in GB.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an important disease of cattle caused by infection with Mycobacterium bovis, a pathogen that may be extremely difficult to eradicate in the presence of a true wildlife reservoir. Our objective was to identify and review relevant literature and provide a succinct summary of current knowledge of risk factors for transmission of infection of cattle. Search strings were developed to identify publications from electronic databases to February 2015. Abstracts of 4255 papers identified were reviewed by three reviewers to determine whether the entire article was likely to contain relevant information. Risk factors could be broadly grouped as follows: animal (including nutrition and genetics), herd (including bTB and testing history), environment, wildlife and social factors. Many risk factors are inter-related and study designs often do not enable differentiation between cause and consequence of infection. Despite differences in study design and location, some risk factors are consistently identified, e.g. herd size, bTB history, presence of infected wildlife, whereas the evidence for others is less consistent and coherent, e.g. nutrition, local cattle movements. We have identified knowledge gaps where further research may result in an improved understanding of bTB transmission dynamics. The application of targeted, multifactorial disease control regimens that address a range of risk factors simultaneously is likely to be a key to effective, evidence-informed control strategies.

Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is an infectious disease of livestock and wildlife species that is caused by pathogenic members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex such as Mycobacterium bovis . Due to the introduction of M. bovis -infected bison in the 1920s, BTB is now endemic in wood bison ( Bison bison athabascae ) population within the Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) in northern Canada. This disease poses a grave threat to the long-term survival of this ecologically and culturally important species and has the potential to cause zoonotic TB and spill over to BTB-free livestock and other bison herds that live in the surrounding areas. Thus, effective BTB control strategies in WBNP bison are urgently needed. To this end, we aerosol challenged young bison with different doses of virulent M. bovis and observed disease-associated delayed-type hypersensitivity, gross lung and lymph node pathology and histopathology, as well as M. bovis burden in target organs, thus confirming the establishment of BTB in challenged animals. We then assessed the safety and efficacy of oral live BCG versus oral heat-inactivated M. bovis (HIMB) given in a homologous prime-boost regimen in bison. While both BCG and HIMB offered protection against BTB, BCG-treated bison thrived more, presented with fewer lung lesions at necropsy and lower burden of virulent M. bovis than HIMB-treated animals. Strikingly, oral HIMB induced almost no delayed-type hypersensitivity to intradermal tuberculin while oral live BCG induced very low sensitivity to tuberculin in bison, indicating their potential as DIVA (differentiating infected from vaccinated animals) vaccines for use in this important wildlife species.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most ancient diseases of mankind, with molecular evidence going back to over 17,000 years. In spite of newer modalities for diagnosis and treatment of TB, unfortunately, people are still suffering, and worldwide it is among the top 10 killer infectious diseases, second only to HIV. According to World Health Organization (WHO), TB is a worldwide pandemic. It is a leading cause of death among HIV-infected people. In India, historically speaking, fight against TB can be broadly classified into three periods: early period, before the discoveries of x-ray and chemotherapy; post-independence period, during which nationwide TB control programs were initiated and implemented; and the current period, during which the ongoing WHO-assisted TB control program is in place. Today, India's DOTS (directly observed treatment-short course) program is the fastest-expanding and the largest program in the world in terms of patients initiated on treatment; and the second largest, in terms of population coverage. Major challenges to control TB in India include poor primary health-care infrastructure in rural areas of many states; unregulated private health care leading to widespread irrational use of first-line and second-line anti-TB drugs; spreading HIV infection; lack of political will; and, above all, corrupt administration. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is another emerging threat to TB eradication and is a result of deficient or deteriorating TB control program. WHO with its \"STOP TB\" strategy has given a vision to eliminate TB as a public health problem from the face of this earth by 2050. For this review article, data available at the official websites of WHO; and from the Ministry of Health, Government of India, were consulted, and search engines PubMed(®) and Google Scholar(®) were used.

Background Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis , remains a significant problem for livestock industries in many countries worldwide including Northern Ireland, where a test and slaughter regime has utilised the Single Intradermal Comparative Cervical Tuberculin (SICCT) test since 1959. We investigated the variation in post-mortem confirmation based on bTB visible lesion (VL) presence during herd breakdowns using two model suites. We investigated animal-level characteristics, while controlling for herd-level factors and clustering. We were interested in potential impacts of concurrent infection, and therefore we assessed whether animals with evidence of liver fluke infection ( Fasciola hepatica ; post-mortem inspection), M. avium reactors (animals with negative M. bovis-avium ( b-a ) tuberculin reactions) or Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV; RT-PCR tested) were associated with bTB confirmation. Results The dataset included 6242 animals removed during the 14 month study period (2013–2015). bTB-VL presence was significantly increased in animals with greater b-a reaction size at the disclosing SICCT test (e.g. b-a  = 5-9 mm vs. b-a =  0 mm, adjusted Odds ratio (aOR): 14.57; p  < 0.001). M. avium reactor animals ( b-a  < 0) were also significantly more likely to disclose VL than non-reactor animals ( b-a =  0; aOR: 2.29; p  = 0.023). Animals had a greater probability of exhibiting lesions with the increasing number of herds it had resided within (movement; log-herds: aOR: 2.27–2.42; p  < 0.001), if it had an inconclusive penultimate test result (aOR: 2.84–3.89; p  < 0.001), and with increasing time between tests (log-time; aOR: 1.23; p  = 0.003). Animals were less likely to have VL if they were a dairy breed (aOR: 0.79; p  = 0.015) or in an older age-class (e.g. age-quartile 2 vs. 4; aOR: 0.65; p  < 0.001). Liver fluke or BVDV variables were not retained in either multivariable model as they were non-significantly associated with bTB-VL status ( p  > 0.1). Conclusions Our results suggest that neither co-infection of liver fluke nor BVDV had a significant effect on the presence of VLs in this high-risk cohort. M. avium tuberculin reactors had a significantly increased risk of disclosing with a bTB lesion, which could be related to the impact of co-infection with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) affecting the performance of the SICCT however further research in this area is required. Movements, test history, breed and age were important factors influencing confirmation in high-risk animals.

Understanding the gross lesion distribution associated with bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and the relationship between antemortem test results is important for optimizing surveillance activities. Antemortem diagnostic test results and postmortem examination results from animals infected with bTB in the United States are routinely collected during surveillance and outbreak response. From 2017 to 2022, data were compiled and analyzed from 403 infected animals, representing both beef and dairy cattle from a variety of herds with different levels of disease prevalence. Overall, 95.3% of cattle infected with Mycobacterium bovis presented with gross lesions. Most cattle had lesions in one anatomic region. Lesions of the thorax and head were most common with 42.4% of infected cattle having lesions in only the thorax, 18.4% having lesions only in the head, and 15.6% having lesions in both the head and thorax. The most frequently affected tissues were the mediastinal, tracheobronchial, and medial retropharyngeal lymph nodes. Results of antemortem skin tests were not found to be associated with lesion count or location. This analysis presents an updated look at the current state and presentation of bTB in the U.S., makes use of data collected in the field, and can help guide future bTB surveillance and control strategies.

Zoonotic diseases accounts for about 75% of emerging infectious disease and can be devastating to both human and animal health globally. A subset of zoonotic diseases is referred to as \"neglected zoonotic diseases - NZDs\" as they mainly affect poor populations who live in close proximity to domestic or wild animals often in areas where access to health and adequate sanitary facilities are not available. Furthermore, underestimation of the burden of NZD has continually led to its further neglect in least developed countries such as Nigeria. Controlling zoonotic infections including NZDs in animals is crucial in reducing human infections. Veterinarians provides an understanding of the epidemiology of infectious diseases in animal population and are therefore integral for the overall reduction in global burden of NZDs worldwide. Due to the current lack of and in some cases weak involvement of Veterinarians in policy issues related to zoonotic diseases, there is need to elucidate their importance in NZDs control in Nigeria. This review therefore summarises the neglected zoonotic diseases so far documented in Nigeria and also highlight the important role of the Veterinarian in their prevention and control within both human and animal population. Important recommendations to strengthen the role of the public health Veterinarian for sustainable control of NZDs were made.