Final Review

zTB is treated similarly to M. tuberculosis. In fact, healthcare providers might not know that a person has M. bovis instead of M. tuberculosis. M. bovis is usually resistant to one of the antibiotics, pyrazinamide, typically used to treat TB disease. However, resistance to just pyrazinamide does not usually cause problems with treatment, because TB disease is treated with a combination of several antibiotics. Latent infection without disease is not treated with pyrazinamide.

To better document the burden and generate accurate, representative data that differentiate disease due to M. bovis from that due to M. tuberculosis, countries should strive to incorporate zoonotic TB into their routine surveillance activities. Better detection of cases requires greater awareness and expertise of healthcare providers, strengthened laboratory capacity, and improved access to accurate, rapid diagnostic tools.

Not all M.bovis infections progress to TB disease, there might be no symptoms at all. The symptoms of TB disease caused by M.bovis are similar to the symptoms of TB caused by M.tuberculosis, which includes fever, weight loss, anorexia, night sweats, etc. Since, the symptoms of Bovine TB are similar to MTB, the clinical picture of sick animal can help in confirmation of diagnosis. 

Clinical Presentations in animals:

People are most commonly infected with M. bovis by eating or drinking contaminated, unpasteurized dairy products. Infection can also occur from direct contact with a wound, such as what might occur during slaughter or hunting, or by inhaling the bacteria in air exhaled by animals infected with M. bovis. Direct transmission from animals to humans through the air is thought to be rare, but M. bovis can be spread directly from person to person when people with the disease in their lungs cough or sneeze.