Contents
About Public Health England 2
Introduction 5
Background information 6
Epidemiology of Mycobacterium bovis in cattle 6
Mycobacterial infections in other animals 9
Other mycobacterial infections in animals 10
Transmission from cattle to humans 13
Oral Transmission 13
Respiratory Transmission 14
Cutaneous Transmission 14
Transmission from humans to cattle 14
Transmission from human to human 14
Transmission from non-bovine animals to humans 15
Other zoonotic mycobacterial infections in humans 15
Liaison between veterinary, medical and local authority agencies 16
TB in cattle 16
Human M. bovis infection 18
Actions to be taken by public health 19
M. bovis in cattle 19
Other considerations 20
Infection in a non-bovine animal 21
Household companion animals 23
Other mycobacterial infections in an animal 24
References 25
Appendix 1. Algorithm for TB in cattle 29
Appendix 2. Algorithm for TB in camelids 30
Appendix 3. Algorithm for TB in companion animals 31
Appendix 4. Sample letters 32
Sample 'inform and advise' letter for TB in cattle 32
Sample 'inform and advise' letter for TB in camelids 33
Sample 'inform and advise' letter for TB in companion animals 34
Appendix 5. AHVLA notification content 35
Other sources of information 36
Table 1. Laboratory diagnoses of culture-positive M. bovis in non-bovine domestic animals & wild deer in GB, confirmed by AHVLA 2002-2012 9
Table 2. Case notification numbers of Mycobacterium bovis from humans by country and region, UK 2000-2012 11
Figure 1. Number of new bovine TB herd breakdowns disclosed annually in GB between 1994 and 2012 7
Figure 2. Map of England and Wales showing locations of farms where Officially TB Free status was withdrawn due to herd breakdown in 2012 8
Figure 3. Percentage of culture-confirmed human TB cases due to M. bovis by age group, UK 2000 to 2012 12
Figure 4. Percentage of culture-confirmed human TB cases due to M. bovis by place of birth and age group, UK 2000 to 2012 12
Box 1. NICE guidance regarding follow-up of cattle TB incidents 19
Box 2. NICE guidance: groups of people at increased risk of developing active TB 20