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Tuberculosis: A Reemerging Disease at the Interface of Domestic Animals and Wildlife

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Book cover Wildlife and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases: The Biology, Circumstances and Consequences of Cross-Species Transmission

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology ((CT MICROBIOLOGY,volume 315))

Complex interactions involving humans, domestic animals, and wildlife create environments favorable to the emergence of new diseases. Today, reservoirs of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of tuberculosis in animals and a serious zoonosis, exist in wildlife. The presence of these wildlife reservoirs is the direct result of spillover from domestic livestock in combination with anthropogenic factors such as translocation of wildlife, supplemental feeding of wildlife and wildlife populations reaching densities beyond normal habitat carrying capacities. As many countries attempt to eradicate M. bovis from domestic livestock, efforts are impeded by spillback from wildlife reservoirs. It will not be possible to eradicate M. bovis from livestock until transmission between wildlife and domestic animals is halted. Such an endeavor will require a collaborative effort between agricultural, wildlife, environmental and political interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bacterial Diseases of Livestock Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, 2300 Dayton Avenue, 50010, Ames, IA, USA

    M. V. Palmer

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  1. M. V. Palmer
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and Center for Eco-Epidemiolog, Yale University School of Medicine, 60 College St, 208034, 06520-8034, New Haven, CT, USA

    James E. Childs

  2. Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre, Curtin University of Technology, U1987, 6845, Perth, WA, Australia

    John S. Mackenzie

  3. Virus and Prion Diseases of Livestock Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center USDA, 2300 Dayton Ave Ames, 50010, IA, USA

    Jürgen A. Richt

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Palmer, M.V. (2007). Tuberculosis: A Reemerging Disease at the Interface of Domestic Animals and Wildlife. In: Childs, J.E., Mackenzie, J.S., Richt, J.A. (eds) Wildlife and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases: The Biology, Circumstances and Consequences of Cross-Species Transmission. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 315. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-70962-6_9

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