Mycobacterium microti Infection in free-ranging wild boar, Spain, 2017-2019

Mycobacterium microti is a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex that causes pathology in many mammals. M. microti infections have been found in some countries in Europe. We report an outbreak of tuberculosis caused by M. microti in wild boars in Spain.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Quantification of the animal tuberculosis multi-host community offers insights for control

Animal tuberculosis (TB) is a multi-host zoonotic disease whose prevalence in cattle herds in Europe has been increasing, despite a huge investment in eradication. The composition of the host community is a fundamental driver of pathogen transmission, and yet this has not been formally quantified for animal TB in Europe. We quantified multi-host communities of animal TB, using stochastic models to estimate the number of infected domestic and wild hosts in three regions: officially TB-free Central–Western Europe, and two largely TB-endemic regions, the Iberian Peninsula and Britain and Ireland. We show that the estimated number of infected animals in the three regions was 290,059–1,605,612 and the numbers of infected non-bovine domestic and wild hosts always exceeded those of infected cattle, with ratios ranging from 3.3 (1.3–19.6):1 in Britain and Ireland to 84.3 (20.5–864):1 in the Iberian Peninsula. Our results illustrate for the first time the extent to which animal TB systems in some regions of Europe are dominated by non-bovine domestic and wild species. These findings highlight the need to adapt current strategies for effective future control of the disease.This research was funded by MINECO and EU-FEDER WildDriver grant CGL2017-89866; NS was funded by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia grant SFRH/BPD/116596/2016

Differences in skin test reactions to official and defined antigens in guinea pigs exposed to non-tuberculous and tuberculous bacteria

The single and comparative intradermal tuberculin tests (SITT and CITT) are official in vivo tests for bovine tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis using bovine and avian purified protein derivatives (PPD-B and PPD-A). Infection with bacteria other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) can result in nonspecific reactions to these tests. We evaluated the performance of the skin test with PPDs and new defined antigens in the guinea pig model. A standard dose (SD) of Rhodococcus equi, Nocardia sp., M. nonchromogenicum, M. monacense, M. intracellulare, M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis, M. avium subsp. avium, M. avium subsp. hominissuis, M. scrofulaceum, M. persicum, M. microti, M. caprae and M. bovis, and a higher dose (HD) of M. nonchromogenicum, M. monacense, M. intracellulare, M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis were tested using PPD-B, PPD-A, P22, ESAT-6-CFP-10-Rv3615c peptide cocktail long (PCL) and fusion protein (FP). The SD of R. equi, Nocardia sp., M. nonchromogenicum, M. monacense, M. intracellulare and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis did not cause any reactions. The HD of M. nonchromogenicum, M. monacense, M. intracellulare, and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and the SD of M. avium subsp. hominissuis, M. scrofulaceum and M. persicum, caused nonspecific reactions (SIT). A CITT interpretation would have considered M. avium complex and M. scrofulaceum groups negative, but not all individuals from M. nonchromogenicum HD, M. monacense HD and M. persicum SD groups. Only animals exposed to M. bovis and M. caprae reacted to PCL and FP. These results support the advantage of complementing or replacing PPD-B to improve specificity without losing sensitivity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Phylogenomic Perspective on a Unique Mycobacterium bovis Clade Dominating Bovine Tuberculosis Infections among Cattle and Buffalos in Northern Brazil.

Lack of routine surveillance in countries endemic for bovine tuberculosis (TB) and limited laboratory support contributes to the inability to differentiate the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex species, leading to an underestimated burden of the disease. Here, Whole-Genome Sequencing of Mycobacterium bovis isolated from tissues with TB-like lesions obtained from cattle and buffalos at Marajó Island, Brazil, demonstrates that recent transmission of M. bovis is ongoing at distinct sites. Moreover, the M. bovis epidemiology in this setting is herein found to be dominated by an endemic and unique clade composed of strains evolved from a common ancestor that are now genetically differentiated from other M. bovis clades. Additionally, envisioning a rapid strain differentiation and tracing across multiple settings, 28 globally validated strain-specific SNPs were identified, three of which considered as robust markers for the M. bovis Marajó strain. In conclusion, this study contributes with data regarding the identification of a novel M. bovis phylogenetic clade responsible for ongoing transmission events in both cattle and buffalo species in Brazil, provides a framework to investigate the dissemination of this highly prevalent strain and, holds the potential to inform TB control strategies that may help to prevent the spread of bovine and zoonotic TB

Identificación, caracterización molecular y mutagénesis insercional de genes codificantes para antígenos proteicos de Brucella Abortus

Brucella abortus, el agente etiológico de la brucelosis bovina, es una bacteria intracelular que replica en células fagocíticas y que también infecta a humanos, por lo que la enfermedad es considerada una zoonosis. Esta enfermedad produce grandes pérdidas en el sector pecuario y de salud pública del país y del mundo. Los factores de virulencia de esta bacteria son pobremente conocidos, y el diagnóstico de la enfermedad es aún dificultoso y poco confiable. Una manera de sobrellevar estas dificultades es por medio del estudio genético de la bacteria. En este trabajo se caracterizaron tres genes y las proteínas que éstos codifican de B.abortus S19, la cepa vacunal bovina. La estrategia para conocer el rol en la fisiología bacteriana fue por un lado obtener la de los genes y buscar homologías en bancos de datos, y por otro lado mutagenizartos por intercambio alélico y estudiar el comportamiento de las cepas mutantes in vivo e in vitro. Se lograron identificar genes del operón 2-oxoglutárico deshidrogenasa y la enzima superóxido dismutasa dependiente de cobre y zinc. En el primer caso, las mutantes muestran claras diferencias con respecto a la cepa salvaje, demostrando un rol fundamental de estas proteínas en la fisiología bacteriana. En el segundo caso, la cepa mutante no muestra diferencias significativas, confirmando resultados previos, por lo que se demuestra que esta proteína no es un factor de virulencia

Animal tuberculosis control in a disease-free country, France: does the long and winding road really lead to eradication?

Abstract It took France almost fifty years to attain its officially animal tuberculosis (TB) free status in 2000, granting the country a favourable position for international live animal trading. The initial TB control program has been adapted at different times in its history in order to suit changing epidemiological contexts: it was first focused on detection and elimination of infected animals while later on protecting TB free herds became a priority. In spite of all the efforts put into the program, final eradication has still not been achieved. Instead, the eradication process has stalled, most probably due to changes in breeding practices in the last 30 years. Indeed, the beef industry has overtaken the milk industry, which has led to the occurrence of new TB risks. Novel epidemiological situations in some regions of extensive beef cattle farming, where wildlife species (wild boar, badger) are also infected, have emerged. More adapted measures have thus been implemented, progressively evaluated and improved in order to reinforce prevention of infection, to follow up with the eradication goal and to strengthen, coordinate and re-motivate field resources. These include, among others, introduction of biosecurity measures in the herd, risk based surveillance and management of wildlife and cattle, improvement of screening in the field and at the abattoir, better diagnosis, but also improvement of communication, awareness, training activities of the main field actors. Very importantly, this new plan has been established through the participation of the majority of involved stakeholders -the farmer industry, hunter associations, veterinarians, scientists and the government-, through coordinated specific steering committees and ad hoc working groups. Without doubt, the main challenge for the next few years is reinforcing communication to encourage and strengthen the program in an already faltering agro-social system. In addition, it will be essential to continue sustaining national research and international collaborations to feed the program with relevant scientific data enabling the authorities to undertake the most pertinent measures for tackling the disease in the short term

Demography and genetic diversity of <em>Mycobacterium bovis</em> strains isolated in France from 1978 to 2011

National audienc

Deciphering the evolution of the temporal and geographic distribution of French Mycobacterium bovis genotypes using a high throughput SNP-targeted amplicon sequencing method

International audienceMycobacterium bovis, which belongs to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, is a highly clonal pathogen. However, several lineages of M. bovis have been described worldwide and nine different clusters were identified in France. Targeted amplicon sequencing using next-generation sequencing technology of eighty-eight phylogenetically informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to infer the phylogenetic relationship of 630 strains of the National Reference Laboratory isolated between 1979 and 2018 from various animal species. This study allowed classifying 618 different genotypic profiles (combination of a spoligotype and 8 loci-MIRU-VNTR profiles) into the nine previously identified clusters. A global analysis of the entire collection of the National Reference Laboratory has made it possible to represent the evolution of clonal complexes and clusters in time and space for better assessing epidemiological changes of bovine tuberculosis in France