ABSTRACT
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis, a close relative of human and avian tuberculosis causing Mycobacterium. bTB is an infectious zoonotic disease that infects not only domesticated cattle but also has a wide range of reservoir hosts in wildlife mammalian species. It adversely impacts the economic dynamics of cattle rearing, animal and human health, and the trade relations of countries across the world. This chapter discusses the major challenges in its control, the types of surveillance programs, all major conventional diagnostic tests, including the gold-standard tuberculin test and culture-based test, and recent developments such as gamma-interferon assays. Many developed countries have successfully controlled bTB in their cattle population by adopting strict compliance to surveillance programs along with “test and slaughter” methods. However, developing countries continue to struggle with high prevalence and the repercussions of the disease for economic and socio-cultural reasons. An excellent surveillance system is based on fast and accurate detection of infection in cattle. This chapter presents facts and insights in the revolutionary development of an effective combinatorial detection approach, in particular the molecular diagnosis of bTB.
