Journal Article

Comparative performance of tuberculin and defined-antigen cocktails for detecting bovine tuberculosis in BCG-vaccinated cattle in natural settings

Bayissa, Berecha, Kapur, Vivek, Srinivasan, Sreenidhi, Tadesse, Biniam, Fromsa, Abebe, Lakew, Matios, Jones, Gareth J., Chibssa, Tesfaye, Bedada, Wegene, Wood, James L. N., Sirak, Asegedech, Veerasami, Maroudam, Juleff, Nick, Gumi, Balako, Mekonnen, Getnet Abie, Vordermeier, H. Martin, Abdela, Musse Girma, Ameni, Gobena, Worku, Dawit, Zeleke, Miserach, Conlan, Andrew J. K.

2025

Overview

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a threat to cattle health and public safety. The current control programs are hampered by wildlife reservoirs and socioeconomic barriers. Vaccinating cattle with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) effectively reduces transmission, offering a potential solution for controlling bTB. A key requirement for vaccination strategies using BCG is the validation of defined antigens to differentiate infections among vaccinated animals (DIVA). We compared tuberculin with DIVA peptide cocktails (ESAT-6, CFP-10, and Rv3615c) in 67 unvaccinated and 67 BCG-vaccinated cattle exposed to M. bovis in a natural setting. The cattle were tested every 4 months with a skin test and every 2 months with interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) release assays (IGRA) over a year of exposure. Before exposure, the DIVA skin, DIVA IGRA, and tuberculin tests showed 100% specificity in unvaccinated control calves. After exposure, the DIVA skin, DIVA IGRA, and comparative cervical tuberculin (CCT) tests had comparable sensitivities of 46% (95% CI 36, 56), 45% (95% CI 35, 55), and 47 (95% CI 37, 57), respectively, when assessed against animals positive by M. bovis culture PCR. The results suggest that test-and-slaughter control strategies using tests with low sensitivity are not expected to be effective in controlling bTB in high-prevalence herds, and highlight an urgent need to improve the sensitivity of diagnostic tests for bTB in these settings.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 631/250 / 631/326 / 692/699 / Animals / Antigens, Bacterial - immunology / Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine / BCG / BCG vaccination / BCG Vaccine - administration & dosage / BCG Vaccine - immunology / Bovine tuberculosis / Cattle / Control programs / Defined antigen cocktails / ESAT-6 antigen / Humanities and Social Sciences / IGRA and skin tests / Interferon-gamma Release Tests / multidisciplinary / Mycobacterium bovis - immunology / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Sensitivity analysis / Sensitivity and Specificity / Skin tests / Tuberculin / Tuberculin - immunology / Tuberculin Test - methods / Tuberculin Test - veterinary / Tuberculosis / Tuberculosis, Bovine - diagnosis / Tuberculosis, Bovine - immunology / Tuberculosis, Bovine - prevention & control / Vaccination / Vaccination - veterinary / Wildlife / γ-Interferon