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O'Brien DJ, Thacker TC, Salvador LCM, Duffiney AG, Robbe-Austerman S, Camacho MS, Lombard JE, Palmer MV. The devil you know and the devil you don't: current status and challenges of bovine tuberculosis eradication in the United States. Ir Vet J 2023; 76:16. [PMID: 37491296 PMCID: PMC10369704 DOI: 10.1186/s13620-023-00247-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Having entered into its second century, the eradication program for bovine tuberculosis (bTB, caused by Mycobacterium bovis) in the United States of America occupies a position both enviable and daunting. Excepting four counties in Michigan comprising only 6109 km2 (0.06% of US land area) classified as Modified Accredited, as of April 2022 the entire country was considered Accredited Free of bTB by the US Department of Agriculture for cattle and bison. On the surface, the now well-described circumstances of endemic bTB in Michigan, where white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) serve as a free-ranging wildlife maintenance host, may appear to be the principal remaining barrier to national eradication. However, the situation there is unique in the U.S., and far-removed from the broader issues of bTB control in the remainder of the country. In Michigan, extensive surveillance for bTB in deer over the last quarter century, and regulatory measures to maximize the harvest of publicly-owned wildlife, have been implemented and sustained. Prevalence of bTB in deer has remained at a low level, although not sufficiently low to eliminate cattle herd infections. Public attitudes towards bTB, cattle and deer, and their relative importance, have been more influential in the management of the disease than any limitations of biological science. However, profound changes in the demographics and social attitudes of Michigan's human population are underway, changes which are likely to force a critical reevaluation of the bTB control strategies thus far considered integral. In the rest of the U.S. where bTB is not self-sustaining in wildlife, changes in the scale of cattle production, coupled with both technical and non-technical issues have created their own substantial challenges. It is against this diverse backdrop that the evolution of whole genome sequencing of M. bovis has revolutionized understanding of the history and ecology of bTB in Michigan, resolved previously undiscernible epidemiological puzzles, provided insights into zoonotic transmission, and unified eradication efforts across species and agencies. We describe the current status of bTB eradication in the U.S., how circumstances and management have changed, what has been learned, and what remains more elusive than ever.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J O'Brien
- Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Disease Laboratory, 4125 Beaumont Road, Room 250, Lansing, MI, 48910-8106, USA.
- Retired. Current address: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
| | - Tyler C Thacker
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, National Veterinary Services Laboratories, 1920 Dayton Avenue, Ames, IA, 50010, USA
| | - Liliana C M Salvador
- Institute of Bioinformatics, Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
- School of Animal & Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Shantz Building, 1177 E 4th St, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
| | - Anthony G Duffiney
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Wildlife Services, 2803 Jolly Road, Suite 100, Okemos, MI, 48864, USA
| | - Suelee Robbe-Austerman
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, National Veterinary Services Laboratories, 1920 Dayton Avenue, Ames, IA, 50010, USA
| | - Mark S Camacho
- United States Department of Agriculture, Cattle Health Center, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Veterinary Services, Centennial Campus, Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA
| | - Jason E Lombard
- United States Department of Agriculture, Field Epidemiologic Investigation, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, 2150 Centre Avenue, Bldg. B, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA
| | - Mitchell V Palmer
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Animal Disease Center, 1920 Dayton Avenue, Ames, IA, 50010, USA
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Jia B, Colling A, Stallknecht DE, Blehert D, Bingham J, Crossley B, Eagles D, Gardner IA. Validation of laboratory tests for infectious diseases in wild mammals: review and recommendations. J Vet Diagn Invest 2020; 32:776-792. [PMID: 32468923 DOI: 10.1177/1040638720920346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Evaluation of the diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) and specificity (DSp) of tests for infectious diseases in wild animals is challenging, and some of the limitations may affect compliance with the OIE-recommended test validation pathway. We conducted a methodologic review of test validation studies for OIE-listed diseases in wild mammals published between 2008 and 2017 and focused on study design, statistical analysis, and reporting of results. Most published papers addressed Mycobacterium bovis infection in one or more wildlife species. Our review revealed limitations or missing information about sampled animals, identification criteria for positive and negative samples (case definition), representativeness of source and target populations, and species in the study, as well as information identifying animals sampled for calculations of DSe and DSp as naturally infected captive, free-ranging, or experimentally challenged animals. The deficiencies may have reflected omissions in reporting rather than design flaws, although lack of random sampling might have induced bias in estimates of DSe and DSp. We used case studies of validation of tests for hemorrhagic diseases in deer and white-nose syndrome in hibernating bats to demonstrate approaches for validation when new pathogen serotypes or genotypes are detected and diagnostic algorithms are changed, and how purposes of tests evolve together with the evolution of the pathogen after identification. We describe potential benefits of experimental challenge studies for obtaining DSe and DSp estimates, methods to maintain sample integrity, and Bayesian latent class models for statistical analysis. We make recommendations for improvements in future studies of detection test accuracy in wild mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beibei Jia
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada (Jia, Gardner).,CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Colling, Bingham, Eagles).,Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (Stallknecht).,U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI (Blehert).,California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA (Crossley)
| | - Axel Colling
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada (Jia, Gardner).,CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Colling, Bingham, Eagles).,Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (Stallknecht).,U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI (Blehert).,California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA (Crossley)
| | - David E Stallknecht
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada (Jia, Gardner).,CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Colling, Bingham, Eagles).,Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (Stallknecht).,U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI (Blehert).,California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA (Crossley)
| | - David Blehert
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada (Jia, Gardner).,CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Colling, Bingham, Eagles).,Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (Stallknecht).,U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI (Blehert).,California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA (Crossley)
| | - John Bingham
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada (Jia, Gardner).,CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Colling, Bingham, Eagles).,Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (Stallknecht).,U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI (Blehert).,California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA (Crossley)
| | - Beate Crossley
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada (Jia, Gardner).,CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Colling, Bingham, Eagles).,Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (Stallknecht).,U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI (Blehert).,California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA (Crossley)
| | - Debbie Eagles
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada (Jia, Gardner).,CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Colling, Bingham, Eagles).,Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (Stallknecht).,U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI (Blehert).,California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA (Crossley)
| | - Ian A Gardner
- Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada (Jia, Gardner).,CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, Victoria, Australia (Colling, Bingham, Eagles).,Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA (Stallknecht).,U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI (Blehert).,California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA (Crossley)
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Fico R, Mariacher A, Franco A, Eleni C, Ciarrocca E, Pacciarini ML, Battisti A. Systemic tuberculosis by MYCOBACTERIUM BOVIS in a free-ranging MARSICAN brown bear (URSUS ARCTOS MARSICANUS): a Case report. BMC Vet Res 2019; 15:152. [PMID: 31101105 PMCID: PMC6525449 DOI: 10.1186/s12917-019-1910-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 05/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Mycobacterium bovis is known to have a wide host range and has been isolated from numerous free-ranging wildlife species, carnivores included. In bears, M. bovis has been previously reported only from a culture of pooled lymph nodes of a black bear (Ursus americanus) in the absence of lesions. The aims of this study were to describe gross and microscopic pathological findings of M. bovis tuberculosis in a deceased Marsican brown bear (Ursus arctos marsicanus). Case presentation In March 2014, an adult female Marsican brown bear was found in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (Italy) showing severe non-specific clinical signs. The animal died soon after its discovery and the carcass was submitted to post-mortem examination to identify the cause of death. The bear was diagnosed with a severe Mycobacterium bovis infection, with both pathological and microbiological aspects suggesting ongoing generalization. A presumptive diagnosis of mycobacterial infection was initially made based on gross findings. Histopathology showed the presence of acid-fast bacilli in all sampled tissues along with poorly organized granulomatous lesions. Slow-growing Mycobacterium sp. was isolated from multiple organs (intestine, mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, spleen, lung and kidneys). The PCR and sequencing algorithm identified the Mycobacterium sp. isolate as M. bovis. Spoligotyping demonstrated that the M. bovis isolate belonged to spoligotype SB0120. Conclusions This is the first report of lethal M. bovis tuberculosis infection in a free-ranging brown bear. This pathogen could have serious adverse effects in an endangered relic population such as the Marsican brown bear. Stricter application of health regulations in force, surveillance of M. bovis infections in wild ungulates and carnivore scavengers, along with dismissal of supplementary feeding points intended for cattle or wildlife, are warranted to control the presence of bovine tuberculosis in wild and domestic animals in protected areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosario Fico
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Regioni Lazio e Toscana, Viale Europa 30, 58100, Grosseto, Italy
| | - Alessia Mariacher
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Regioni Lazio e Toscana, Viale Europa 30, 58100, Grosseto, Italy.
| | - Alessia Franco
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Regioni Lazio e Toscana, Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia Eleni
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Regioni Lazio e Toscana, Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178, Rome, Italy
| | - Erika Ciarrocca
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Regioni Lazio e Toscana, Viale Europa 30, 58100, Grosseto, Italy
| | - Maria Lodovica Pacciarini
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia-Romagna, National Reference Laboratory for Bovine Tuberculosis, Via A. Bianchi 9, 25124, Brescia, Italy
| | - Antonio Battisti
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Regioni Lazio e Toscana, Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178, Rome, Italy
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