sniffy
Senior Reporter
http://sacemaquarterly.com/tuberculosis/should-we-be-worrying-about-bovine-tb.html
zoonotic: disease that affects animals AND humans
BTB in KZN
In addition to KNP, considerable concern exists for the spread of BTB in the buffalo population in KwaZulu-Natal’s Hluhluwe-iMfolozi park (HiP). BTB was first detected in a black rhino in this park in 1970. In 1986 BTB was confirmed to be prevalent in HiP buffalo, with the source attributed to local cattle mixing with buffalo before the park was fully fenced in the 1960s. Many small-scale farmers neighbouring HiP live under impoverished conditions and rely solely on livestock for their food and financial security. They also have limited access to animal and human healthcare services. Thus the introduction and spread of BTB into HiP could have a devastating impact on the health and well-being of livestock and humans if it is not contained.
A study by Claire Geoghegan, PhD student at University of Pretoria, investigated BTB in rural communities neighbouring HiP, by measuring the prevalence of both brucellosis (another food-borne zoonoses that causes abortion or premature calving of recently infected animals) and BTB in community cattle, as well as surveying over a thousand households to assess their resilience to threats from zoonotic disease and agricultural disasters. In collaboration with scientists from Onderstepoort Veterinary School, the degree to which milk storage and souring processes mitigate or exacerbate the threat of BTB infection is assessed.
Burden on human health
If BTB infections spread to cattle, then humans become at risk due to their close-association with sick animals during herding and milking. Also individuals, particularly children, the elderly, malnourished, and immunocompromised, risk alimentary infection though ingestion of bacteria in milk and dairy products. BTB has been isolated in dairy products throughout Africa, and children given raw milk are particularly at risk of developing infection in lymph nodes, a common condition in Europe in the 19th century prior to widespread pasteurisation of milk (5).
Infections of BTB through consumption of infected meat and milk often lead to extra-pulmonary TB that is much more likely to go undiagnosed and unreported than the more usual pulmonary TB. Also BTB is resistant to eleven of the most cost-effective and accessible front line drugs, and is thus more difficult and expensive to treat (6). To top this, TB is a major opportunistic disease of individuals infected with HIV, resulting in a prevalence of 80% in HIV patients in KwaZulu-Natal. Thus the co-occurrence of M. bovis and HIV in the rural communities presents a considerable threat that needs to be investigated and monitored.
So, yes, we should be worrying about bovine tuberculosis in South Africa. It is only through studies like those discussed here that we can begin to evaluate the importance of widespread testing and control for bovine TB in rural areas in South African, and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.
zoonotic: disease that affects animals AND humans
BTB in KZN
In addition to KNP, considerable concern exists for the spread of BTB in the buffalo population in KwaZulu-Natal’s Hluhluwe-iMfolozi park (HiP). BTB was first detected in a black rhino in this park in 1970. In 1986 BTB was confirmed to be prevalent in HiP buffalo, with the source attributed to local cattle mixing with buffalo before the park was fully fenced in the 1960s. Many small-scale farmers neighbouring HiP live under impoverished conditions and rely solely on livestock for their food and financial security. They also have limited access to animal and human healthcare services. Thus the introduction and spread of BTB into HiP could have a devastating impact on the health and well-being of livestock and humans if it is not contained.
A study by Claire Geoghegan, PhD student at University of Pretoria, investigated BTB in rural communities neighbouring HiP, by measuring the prevalence of both brucellosis (another food-borne zoonoses that causes abortion or premature calving of recently infected animals) and BTB in community cattle, as well as surveying over a thousand households to assess their resilience to threats from zoonotic disease and agricultural disasters. In collaboration with scientists from Onderstepoort Veterinary School, the degree to which milk storage and souring processes mitigate or exacerbate the threat of BTB infection is assessed.
Burden on human health
If BTB infections spread to cattle, then humans become at risk due to their close-association with sick animals during herding and milking. Also individuals, particularly children, the elderly, malnourished, and immunocompromised, risk alimentary infection though ingestion of bacteria in milk and dairy products. BTB has been isolated in dairy products throughout Africa, and children given raw milk are particularly at risk of developing infection in lymph nodes, a common condition in Europe in the 19th century prior to widespread pasteurisation of milk (5).
Infections of BTB through consumption of infected meat and milk often lead to extra-pulmonary TB that is much more likely to go undiagnosed and unreported than the more usual pulmonary TB. Also BTB is resistant to eleven of the most cost-effective and accessible front line drugs, and is thus more difficult and expensive to treat (6). To top this, TB is a major opportunistic disease of individuals infected with HIV, resulting in a prevalence of 80% in HIV patients in KwaZulu-Natal. Thus the co-occurrence of M. bovis and HIV in the rural communities presents a considerable threat that needs to be investigated and monitored.
So, yes, we should be worrying about bovine tuberculosis in South Africa. It is only through studies like those discussed here that we can begin to evaluate the importance of widespread testing and control for bovine TB in rural areas in South African, and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.