title: Surveillance for Mycobacterium bovis transmission from domestic cattle to wild ruminants in a Mexican wildlife-livestock interface area.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle and wild ruminants (WRs) in a wildlife-livestock interface area (WLIA) of the Mexican highland plateau.
  
  
  METHODS
  24,400 cattle from 793 herds (including 17,351 commercially slaughtered cattle) and 142 WRs (110 white-tailed deer [Odocoileus virginianus], 20 red deer [Cervus elaphus], and 12 North American elk [Cervus canadensis]) harvested via controlled hunting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cattle were serially tested for M bovis infection via caudal fold tuberculin and comparative cervical tuberculin tests during field surveillance. Carcasses of cattle and WRs were inspected for gross lesions; samples suggestive of tuberculosis were analyzed via histologic evaluation and mycobacterial culture (HMC). A PCR assay to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex organisms was performed to confirm positive results of HMC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  WRs had inflammatory lesions in lungs and lymph nodes, although HMC results did not indicate M bovis infection. Eight cattle had positive results for both tuberculin tests, and 31 had positive results for HMC of grossly detected lesions; all were from 7 herds, and ≥ 1 cow in each herd had positive PCR assay results. These 7 herds were depopulated; adjacent herds and herds related via commerce were quarantined. Calculated true prevalence of M bovis infection was 0.86% (95% confidence interval, 0.24% to 1.49%) in cattle; M bovis was not detected in any WRs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  M bovis infection was present in cattle. Although transmission to WRs in this WLIA was not detected, diagnosis and prevention activities should be implemented and consolidated to prevent potential M bovis transmission between cattle and WRs.
authors.affiliation: Committee for Promoting and Protecting Livestock, km 21.5 carretera Aguascalientes-Zacatecas, San Francisco de los Romo, Aguascalientes 20300, México.
authors.forename: Luis F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Cisneros
authors.forename: Arturo G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Valdivia
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Waldrup
authors.forename: Efrén
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Díaz-Aparicio
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martínez-de-Anda
authors.forename: Carlos R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Cruz-Vázquez
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ortiz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000662:veterinary; D003670:Deer; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013045:Species Specificity; D014374:Tuberculin Test / Q000662:veterinary; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D014380:Tuberculosis, Bovine / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission