Characterization of Mycobacterium bovis in Mozambique

The most extensive study to date of the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium bovis isolates from Mozambique is reported in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is of global concern for multiple reasons – the economic impact on animal production, the potential spread to wildlife, and the risk of transmission to humans. While BTB is known to be widespread in Africa, limited data exists combining its prevalence and distribution across borders. Efforts to determine to what extent human tuberculosis is due to M. bovis are ongoing.

Margarida Correia-Neves of the University of Minho, Portugal, and colleagues obtained 228 M. bovis samples from both small-scale and large commercial herds of cattle in 10 districts of Mozambique. They then genotyped each sample to determine how the strains were related, and used previous datasets to compare this data and integrate the results in a new phylogenetic tree with other M. bovis found throughout Africa.

The data revealed a deeply geographically structured diversity of M. bovis, with isolates from Mozambique falling into one of a handful of clades; some had a signature seen in the British Isles and former UK colonies, others represented sub-branches of the South African clade, and a third cluster suggested a local Mozambique clade. Overall, the results throughout Africa suggested that the diversity of M. bovis is unlikely to be shaped by the recent importation of cattle, but is maintained within regions through the constant reinfection of animals.

“It is of vital importance to continue the efforts made in Mozambique in order to completely characterize and understand the extent of BTB,” the researchers say. “The information concerning M. bovis presented here represents a foundation stone in that process.”

Article: Genetic diversity and potential routes of transmission of Mycobacterium bovis in Mozambique by Adelina Machado, Teresa Rito, Solomon Ghebremichael, Nuelma Muhate, Gabriel Maxhuza, Custodia Macuamule, Ivania Moiane, Baltazar Macucule, Angelica Suzana Marranangumbe, Jorge Baptista, Joaquim Manguele, Tuija Koivula, Elizabeth Maria Streicher, Robin Mark Warren, Gunilla Kallenius, Paul van Helden and Margarida Correia-Neves, published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases (2018) 12(1): e0006147, doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006147

[SOURCE: PLOS]