Tracing cross species transmission of Mycobacterium bovis at the wildlife/livestock interface in South Africa

Background: Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) affects cattle and wildlife in South Africa with the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) as the principal maintenance host. The presence of a wildlife maintenance host at the wildlife/livestock interface acting as spill-over host makes it much more challenging to control and eradicate bTB in cattle. Spoligotyping and mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number of tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) genotyping methods were performed to investigate the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) isolates from cattle and wildlife, their distribution and transmission at the wildlife/livestock interface in northern Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), South Africa. Results: SB0130 was identified as the dominant spoligotype pattern at this wildlife/livestock interface, while VNTR typing revealed a total of 29 VNTR profiles (strains) in the KZN province signifying high genetic variability. The detection of 5 VNTR profiles shared between cattle and buffalo suggests M. bovis transmission between species. MIRU-VNTR confirmed co-infection in one cow with three strains of M. bovis that differed at a single locus, with 2 being shared with buffalo, implying pathogen introduction from most probably unrelated wildlife sources. Conclusion: Our findings highlight inter and intra species transmission of bTB at the wildlife/livestock interface and the need for the implementation of adequate bTB control measures to mitigate the spread of the pathogen responsible for economic losses and a public health threat.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Sichewo, Petronillah Rudo, Hlokwe, Tiny, Etter, Eric, Michel, Anita Luise
Format:	article biblioteca
Language:	eng
Published:	Springer
Subjects:	L73 - Maladies des animaux, Mycobacterium bovis, Syncerus caffer, tuberculose, transmission des maladies, contrôle de maladies, bétail, animal sauvage, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_12732, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_d0debf2f, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7997, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_2329, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_2327, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_4397, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_24103, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7252,
Online Access:	http://agritrop.cirad.fr/595300/ http://agritrop.cirad.fr/595300/1/Sichewo%2020%20TracingCrossSpTransmMbWL-LivestInterfaceSA.pdf
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!