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Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB)

Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) is a contagious disease in cattle caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis, leading to significant economic losses and posing a risk to public health.

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STAR IDAZ Approach

Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) is a persistent and economically significant disease impacting cattle globally. To tackle this challenge, the STAR IDAZ IRC has developed three comprehensive roadmaps focusing on diagnostics, vaccines, and control strategies. These roadmaps were crafted with input from bTB experts worldwide, who collaborated to pinpoint critical research gaps and innovation needs. Designed for global relevance, the roadmaps are strategically aligned to drive progress in the fight against bTB.

Information

Working group

GrabTB is no longer active

The Global Research Alliance for Bovine Tuberculosis (GRAbTB), which is no longer active, was started under the STAR IDAZ IRC project, to facilitate research cooperation and technical exchange on bovine tuberculosis (bTB). GRAbTB had 15 partners from Asia, Australasia, the Americas and Europe. The Strategic Goal of GRAbTB was to: identify research opportunities and facilitate collaborations within the Alliance; conduct strategic and multi-disciplinary research to better understand bovine TB; develop new and improved tools to control bovine TB; serve as a communication and technology sharing gateway for the global bovine TB research community and stakeholders; and promote collaboration with the human TB research community.

Key People

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Vivek Kapur ,

Penn State University United States

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James Wood ,

University of Cambridge United Kingdom

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Robin Skuce,

Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) United Kingdom

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Adrian Allen,

Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) United Kingdom

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Tom Ford,

Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) United Kingdom

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Nathalie Winter,

Animal Health Division France


Reports

Reports and outcomes from meetings and workshops

Research roadmaps

Gap analysis summary

Three STAR IDAZ roadmaps highlight urgent needs for: (1) accurate diagnostics, particularly DIVA tests; (2) effective vaccines capable of differentiating between infection and vaccination; and (3) integrated control measures across herd, regional, and national levels. These priorities were refined through a Birmingham, UK workshop in February 2023, and summarized in the Executive Summary of Research Gaps.