Tuberculosis in wild animals in India.

India is renowned for its complex megadiverse ecosystems and abundant biodiversity. Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) often remains synonymous with Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle. The domain of tuberculosis (TB) among wild animals, induced by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex organisms (MTBC), is often underexplored and underreported in India. Within this context, instances of wild animal tuberculosis (wTB) have manifested across both captive and free-roaming animals. The sources contributing to wTB in animals can be human, animal, or environmental factors, thus illuminating the complex transmission pathways. The diagnosis of wTB continues to pose a formidable challenge, a consequence of the expansive taxonomic diversity in both the host and the pathogen. Complications inherent in acquiring samples from wildlife, the absence of standardized diagnostic protocols, limited insights into infection prevalence, and resource constraints compound diagnosis. Amidst these, adopting the comprehensive One Health paradigm surfaces as an imperative, accentuating the interconnectedness bridging human, animal, and environmental health. Recognizing key stakeholders and fostering intersectoral collaboration to provide enhanced diagnostic techniques driven by skilled personnel and advanced infrastructure play pivotal roles in a comprehensive strategy. Additionally, leveraging vaccination efforts contributes to effective control. A national wTB surveillance program is a cornerstone, ensuring an integrated and holistic approach to disease management. Through this review, we delve into the current landscape of wTB in India, unveiling its multifaceted challenges, and further explore the multifarious strategies that the One Health approach proffers in this dynamic endeavor.

Bovine tuberculosis in India: The need for One Health approach and the way forward.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic granulomatous infectious illness in cattle. The etiological agent of bTB is Mycobacterium bovis. However, other members belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, like M. tuberculosis, M. africanum, M. caprae, M. orygis, and M. microti are known to cause bTB in cattle. There are 303.76 million bovines in India, and it is the largest producer of milk and the second largest producer of meat worldwide. The prevalence of bTB among farm and dairy cattle in India is estimated to be around 7.3%, which makes it a country with one of the largest infected herds in the world. While bTB control programs have had considerable success in reducing the prevalence of the disease in many developed countries, they have yet to be formulated or implemented in India. Bovine TB also has a zoonotic and reverse component, which means that the disease can spread from cattle to human and from human to cattle. In a country like India, which contributes to nearly one-fourth of the global TB burden, the zoonotic aspect must be addressed so that the disease can be curbed. While cattle are the primary reservoir host to bTB, animals like goats, deer, bison, pigs, dogs, badgers, possums, and primates are also susceptible to the disease. This review talks about the burden of bTB in India and the necessity of One Health approach to combat the disease.

COVID-19 in animals: A need for One Health approach.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 has been identified as the cause of the COVID-19, which caused a global pandemic. It is a pathogen that causes respiratory disease and can easily navigate the interspecies barrier. A significant number of COVID-19 cases in animals have been reported worldwide, including but not limited to animals in farms, captivity, and household pets. Thus, assessing the affected population and anticipating 'at risk' population becomes essential. OBJECTIVES: This article aims to emphasize the zoonotic potential of SARS- CoV-2 and discuss the One Health aspects of the disease. CONTENT: This is a narrative review of recently published studies on animals infected with SARS-CoV-2, both experimental and natural. The elucidation of the mechanism of infection by binding SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the ACE-2 receptor cells in humans has led to bioinformatic analysis that has identified a few other susceptible species in silico. While infections in animals have been extensively reported, no intermediary host has yet been identified for this disease. The articles collected in this review have been grouped into four categories; experimental inoculations, infection in wild animals, infection in farm animals and infection in pet animals, along with a review of literature in each category. The risk of infection transmission between humans and animals and vice versa and the importance of the One Health approach has been discussed at length in this article.

Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium orygis in wild ungulates in Chennai, South India.

We report the isolation of Mycobacterium orygis, a member of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), from two black bucks (Antelope cervicapra) and one spotted deer (Axis axis) from the Guindy National Park forest range in Chennai, India. Lung tissue and lymph node samples collected during post-mortem examination were processed using NaOH method and cultured in solid and liquid media. DNA extracted from the cultured isolates was used to amplify the mpt64 gene by specific primers and the band visualized at 240 bps confirmed the isolates as a member of MTBC. Further examination of these isolates by spoligotyping and whole-genome sequencing confirmed the isolates as M. orygis and the phylogenetic tree revealed their well-clustered position with other M. orygis isolates around the globe. The deletion of RD7-RD10, RDOryx_1, RDOryx_4, RD12Oryx, RD301 and RD315 further substantiated these isolates as M. orygis. The exact source of infection in animals was untraceable and the pairwise comparison of the genomes based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms difference did not detect any events of transmission within the affected animals. Nevertheless, it would be wise to take into account the environment where there exists a high chance of transmission due to the increased human-animal interaction. Since it is well known that the pathogen is capable of causing infection in both human and animal hosts, systematic surveillance and screening of spotted deer, black buck as well as humans in the vicinity is essential for successful implementation of the One Health approach.

Role of abattoir monitoring in determining the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is one of the major zoonotic concerns of the world, as milk and meat from cattle are major products for human consumption. Bovine tuberculosis not only affects the health of cattle and poses an imminent zoonotic threat, but also causes significant economic loss in both developed and developing countries. This systematic review reports the prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) organisms in slaughtered cattle showing tuberculosis-like lesion (TBL) with available literature worldwide. Appropriate keywords were used to search various databases to collect articles pertaining to slaughterhouse studies. Bovine TB prevalence, based on the prevalence of MTBC organisms in slaughtered cattle showing TBL by culture, microscopy, PCR and spoligotyping, was assessed in each study using a random-effects model and standardized mean with 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed by the I2 statistic. Publication bias was evaluated using funnel plots. Out of 72 hits, 37 studies were selected based on title and abstract. Ten articles were excluded due to lack of desired data, and 27 studies were included in the final analysis. From the selected articles, it was found that 426 [95% CI: 302-560] per 1,000 slaughtered cattle with TBL were positive for the presence of MTBC organisms. The sensitivity analysis showed that no individual study alone influenced the estimation of pooled prevalence. The prevalence of MTBC organisms in slaughtered cattle showing TBL by culture, microscopy, PCR and spoligotyping was 474[95% CI: 342-610], 385 [95% CI: 269-515], 218 [95% CI: 132-338], 326 [95% CI: 229-442], respectively, per 1,000 slaughtered cattle. Most of the slaughtered cattle were from the same locality as the slaughterhouse. The results obtained in this study suggest that abattoir monitoring can give an estimate of the prevalence of bTB in that locality. This study also emphasizes the need to test cattle and animal handlers who were in contact with bTB-positive cattle.