Elsevier

The Veterinary Journal

Volume 160, Issue 2, September 2000, Pages 92-106
The Veterinary Journal

Review
Cattle-to-Cattle Transmission of Bovine Tuberculosis

https://doi.org/10.1053/tvjl.2000.0482Get rights and content

Abstract

In developed countries, Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle is now mostly confined to the respiratory system, which reflects transmission and establishment of infection mainly by this route. A single bacillus transported within a droplet nucleus is probably sufficient to establish infection within the bovine lung. Infected cattle should always be considered as potential sources of infection, since studies have demonstrated that a significant proportion of tuberculous cattle excrete M. bovis.

In general, the dynamics of M. bovis transmission are poorly understood and the conditions under which a tuberculous animal becomes an effective disseminator of infection are currently not defined although environmental contamination appears to be a less effective method of disease transmission. Field studies indicate a wide spectrum of transmission rates but generally the spread of M. bovis infection is still considered to be a relatively slow process. Slaughter of diseased cattle detected by tuberculin testing and at meat plant inspection has been shown to be an effective policy for tuberculosis eradication, provided there are no other reservoirs of infection and all involved in the cattle industry are committed to a policy of eradication. Epidemiological approaches, particularly case-control studies, seem to provide the best method for quantifying the relative importance of the various sources of M. bovis transmission to cattle and modelling techniques can be used to assist in the design of cost-effective control measures that may lead to tuberculosis eradication.

References (107)

  • T.B.R. EVANGELISTA et al.

    Tuberculosis in dairy calves: risk of Mycobacterium spp. exposure associated with management of colostrum and milk

    Preventive Veterinary Medicine

    (1996)
  • J.M. GRIFFIN et al.

    The association of cattle husbandry practices, environmental factors and farmers characteristics with the occurrence of chronic bovine tuberculosis in dairy herds in the Republic of Ireland

    Preventive Veterinary Medicine

    (1993)
  • J.M. GRIFFIN et al.

    A case-control study on the association of selected risk factors with the occurrence of bovine tuberculosis in the Republic of Ireland

    Preventive Veterinary Medicine

    (1996)
  • S. MARANGON et al.

    A case-control study on bovine tuberculosis in the Veneto Region (Italy)

    Preventive Veterinary Medicine

    (1998)
  • R. MCLEOD et al.

    Immunogenetics in the analysis of resistance to intracellular pathogens

    Current Opinion in Immunology

    (1995)
  • R.S. MORRIS et al.

    The epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis infections

    Veterinary Microbiology

    (1994)
  • F. MUNROE et al.

    Risk factors for the between-herd spread of Mycobacterium bovis in Canadian cattle and cervids between 1985 and 1994

    Preventive Veterinary Medicine

    (1999)
  • S.D. NEILL et al.

    A mathematical model for Mycobacterium bovis excretion from tuberculous cattle

    Veterinary Microbiology

    (1991)
  • S.D. NEILL et al.

    Pathogenesis of Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle

    Veterinary Microbiology

    (1994)
  • L.M. O’REILLY et al.

    The epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis infections in animals and man: a review

    Tubercle and Lung Disease

    (1995)
  • V.S. PERUMAALLA et al.

    Molecular fingerprinting confirms extensive cow-to-cow intra-herd transmission of a single Mycobacterium bovis strain

    Veterinary Microbiology

    (1999)
  • D.G. PRITCHARD

    A century of bovine tuberculosis 1888–1988: Conquest and Controversy

    Journal of Comparative Pathology

    (1988)
  • T. QURESHI et al.

    Intracellular survival of Brucella abortus, Mycobacterium bovis BCG, Salmonella dublin, andSalmonella typhimurium in macrophages from cattle genetically resistant to Brucella abortus

    Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology

    (1996)
  • M.A. SCHOENBAUM et al.

    Epidemic of bovine tuberculosis cases originating from an infected beef herd in Oklahoma, USA

    Preventive Veterinary Medicine

    (1992)
  • Report of a WHO/FAO/OIE consultation on animal tuberculosis vaccines held in Geneva, 3–5 August 1994.

    (1994)
  • Trends and sources of zoonotic agents in animals, feedstuffs, food and man in the European Union in 1997. Part 1. Document No. VI/8495/98 of the European Commission.

    (1998)
  • First report to the Rt Hon Dr Jack Cunningham MP from the Independent Scientific Group on cattle TB July 1998.

    (1998)
  • B.M. BUDDLE et al.

    Experimental Mycobacterium bovis infection of cattle – effect of dose of Mycobacterium bovis and pregnancy on immune responses and distribution of lesions

    New Zealand Veterinary Journal

    (1994)
  • J.P. CASSIDY et al.

    Tonsillar lesions in cattle naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis

    Veterinary Record

    (1999)
  • J.P. CASSIDY et al.

    Lesion formation in cattle infected by exposure to calves inoculated with Mycobacterium bovis.

    Journal of Comparative Pathology

    (1999)
  • A. CATANZARO

    Nosocomial tuberculosis

    American Review of Respiratory Disease

    (1982)
  • S. CAVIRANI et al.

    Isolation of Mycobacterium bovis using conventional medium and radiometric method

    Proceedings of the Italian Society for Veterinary Science held at Silva Marina, Italy on 17–19 September 1998

    (1999)
  • J.W.T. CHALMERS et al.

    An outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in two herds in South West Scotland – veterinary and public health response

    Journal of Public Health Medicine

    (1996)
  • R. CLIFTON-HADLEY et al.

    An epidemiological outlook on bovine tuberculosis in the developed world

    Proceedings of the second international conference on Mycobacterium bovis held at the University of Otago, New Zealand on 28 August–1 September 1995.

    (1995)
  • R.S. CLIFTON-HADLEY et al.

    The occurrence of Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle in and around an area subject to extensive badger (Meles meles) control

    Epidemiology and Infection

    (1995)
  • S.T. COLE et al.

    Deciphering the biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the complete genome sequence

    Nature

    (1998)
  • D.M. COLLINS et al.

    DNA restriction fragment typing of Mycobacterium bovis isolates from cattle and badgers in Ireland

    Veterinary Record

    (1994)
  • D. COLLINS et al.

    Virulence factors of Mycobacterium bovis

    Proceedings of the second international conference on Mycobacterium bovis held at the University of Otago, New Zealand on 28 August – 1 September 1995.

    (1995)
  • J.D. COLLINS

    Factors relevant to M. bovis eradication

    Irish Veterinary Journal

    (1996)
  • G.L. COOPER et al.

    The potential use of DNA probes to identify and type strains within the Mycobacterium bovis complex

    Letters in Applied Microbiology

    (1989)
  • K.B. CREWS

    Post-mortem findings in bovine tuberculosis reactors

    Surveillance

    (1991)
  • I. DE KANTOR et al.

    Mycobacteria isolated from nasal secretions of tuberculin test reactor cattle

    American Journal of Veterinary Research

    (1978)
  • G. DE LISLE et al.

    The measurement of virulence of mycobacteria

    Proceedings of the second international conference on Mycobacterium bovis held at the University of Otago, New Zealand on 28 August – 1 September 1995.

    (1995)
  • G.O. DENNY et al.

    Bovine tuberculosis in Northern Ireland: a case-control study of herd risk factors

    Veterinary Record

    (1999)
  • M.L. DOHERTY et al.

    Effect of dietary restriction on cell-mediated immune responses in cattle infected with Mycobacterium bovis

    Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology

    (1995)
  • J.A. EVES

    Impact of badger removal on bovine tuberculosis in east County Offaly

    Irish Veterinary Journal

    (1999)
  • P.A. FLANAGAN et al.

    A study of tuberculosis breakdowns in herds in which some purchased animals were identified as reactors

    Irish Veterinary Journal

    (1996)
  • J. FRANCIS

    Tuberculosis in Animals and Man.

    (1958)
  • J. FRANCIS

    Susceptibility to tuberculosis and the route of infection

    Australian Veterinary Journal

    (1971)
  • J. FRANCIS

    Route of infection in tuberculosis

    Australian Veterinary Journal

    (1972)
  • Cited by (0)

    View full text