TY - JOUR
T1 - The burden of mycobacterial disease in Ethiopian cattle
T2 - Implications for public health
AU - Berg, Stefan
AU - Firdessa, Rebuma
AU - Habtamu, Meseret
AU - Gadisa, Endalamaw
AU - Mengistu, Araya
AU - Yamuah, Lawrence
AU - Ameni, Gobena
AU - Vordermeier, Martin
AU - Robertson, Brian D.
AU - Smith, Noel H.
AU - Engers, Howard
AU - Young, Douglas
AU - Hewinson, R. Glyn
AU - Aseffa, Abraham
AU - Gordon, Stephen V.
PY - 2009/4/7
Y1 - 2009/4/7
N2 - Background: Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a debilitating disease of cattle. Ethiopia has one of the largest cattle populations in the world, with an economy highly dependent on its livestock. Furthermore, Ethiopia has one of the highest incidence rates of human extrapulmonary TB in the world, a clinical presentation that is often associated with transmission of M. bovis from cattle to humans. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we present a comprehensive investigation of the prevalence of bTB in Ethiopia based on cases identified at slaughterhouses. Out of approximately 32,800 inspected cattle, ∼4.7% showed suspect tuberculous lesions. Culture of suspect lesions yielded acid-fast bacilli in ∼11% of cases, with M. bovis accounting for 58 of 171 acid-fast cultures, while 53 isolates were non-tuberculous mycobacteria. Strikingly, M. tuberculosis was isolated from eight cattle, an unusual finding that suggests human to animal transmission. Conclusions/Significance: Our analysis has revealed that bTB is widely spread throughout Ethiopia, albeit at a low prevalence, and provides underpinning evidence for public health policy formulation.
AB - Background: Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a debilitating disease of cattle. Ethiopia has one of the largest cattle populations in the world, with an economy highly dependent on its livestock. Furthermore, Ethiopia has one of the highest incidence rates of human extrapulmonary TB in the world, a clinical presentation that is often associated with transmission of M. bovis from cattle to humans. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we present a comprehensive investigation of the prevalence of bTB in Ethiopia based on cases identified at slaughterhouses. Out of approximately 32,800 inspected cattle, ∼4.7% showed suspect tuberculous lesions. Culture of suspect lesions yielded acid-fast bacilli in ∼11% of cases, with M. bovis accounting for 58 of 171 acid-fast cultures, while 53 isolates were non-tuberculous mycobacteria. Strikingly, M. tuberculosis was isolated from eight cattle, an unusual finding that suggests human to animal transmission. Conclusions/Significance: Our analysis has revealed that bTB is widely spread throughout Ethiopia, albeit at a low prevalence, and provides underpinning evidence for public health policy formulation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=64549119733&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0005068
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0005068
M3 - Article
C2 - 19352493
AN - SCOPUS:64549119733
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 4
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 4
M1 - e5068
ER -
