New Test for Cattle May Help Control TB in Humans

Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease that usually affects the lungs - although it can affect other parts of the body as well - and although there is a vaccine to prevent infection (BCG), it offers a protection rate between 50% and 80%. So much so that tuberculosis is still among the most dangerous and widespread infectious diseases on the planet, and it is estimated that 3 people die every minute of this disease.

In humans, tuberculosis is usually caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but it can also occur from other organisms in the same family causing the disease. One is common in cattle, and according to Kristy Hamilton of IFLScience !, surveys have shown that 10% of all tuberculosis cases in the world are caused by the spread of this bacterium found in cattle, often due to consumption of unpasteurized milk.

Problematic control

In animals, tuberculosis also causes many health problems and impacts productivity, which is not at all interesting to livestock farmers. This type of infection is more prevalent in underdeveloped countries, obviously, where access to vaccines is much more restricted. But even in places where access is available, such as drugs are produced from inactive versions of the bacteria, if tests are performed, the results eventually detect the presence of pathogens in the animals' bodies, even though they have never contracted the disease - and even after a long period after vaccination.

It turns out that one of the most common methods to fight tuberculosis in cattle is to perform tests and, if the result is positive, to sacrifice the contaminated animal. So, the vaccine is often not applied to prevent the death of kittens who are not really sick, and as a result, tuberculosis control is not only impaired, but there is little interest from the authorities and breeders. promote herd vaccination - which in turn has a negative impact on disease control in humans. However, this picture may change thanks to a new type of test.

Alternative

According to Kristy, Pennsylvania State University researchers are working on a method that can differentiate TB-infected animals from vaccinated ones. This is a new test consisting of a variety of substances that react only when they come in contact with the bacteria that causes the disease - not the antibodies that are present in the body after the vaccine - causing an immune reaction from sick animals. .

The cool thing is that by preventing healthy and immunized animals from being killed, the test could motivate governments to launch vaccination campaigns and breeders to adhere to the initiatives, which in turn will have positive impacts on human disease control. . Moreover, the method can be especially advantageous in countries where cattle are not slaughtered for religious or cultural reasons, such as India, for example, a nation whose tuberculosis numbers are quite significant.