title: Bovine tuberculosis at the human-livestock-wildlife interface: is it a public health problem in Tanzania? A review.
abstract: Despite the apparent public health concern about Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in Tanzania, little  has been done regarding the zoonotic importance of the disease and raising awareness of the  community to prevent the disease. Bovine tuberculosis is a potential zoonotic disease that can  infect a variety of hosts, including humans. The presence of multiple hosts including wild  animals, inefficient diagnostic techniques, absence of defined national controls and eradication  programs could impede the control of bovine TB. In Tanzania, the diagnosis of Mycobacterium  bovis in animals is mostly carried out by tuberculin skin testing, meat inspection in abattoirs  and only rarely using bacteriological techniques. The estimated prevalence of BTB in animals  in Tanzania varies and ranges across regions from 0.2% to 13.3%, which is likely to be an  underestimate if not confirmed by bacteriology or molecular techniques. Mycobacterium bovis has been detected and isolated from different animal species and has been recovered in 10%  of apparently healthy wildebeest that did not show lesions at post-mortem. The transmission  of the disease from animals to humans can occur directly through the aerosol route and  indirectly by consumption of raw milk. This poses an emerging disease threat in the current  era of HIV confection in Tanzania and elsewhere. Mycobacterium bovis is one of the causative  agents of human extra pulmonary tuberculosis. In Tanzania there was a significant increase  (116.6%) of extrapulmonary cases reported between 1995 and 2009, suggesting the possibility  of widespread M. bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection due to general rise of Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This paper aims to review the potential health and economic  impact of bovine tuberculosis and challenges to its control in order to safeguard human and  animal population in Tanzania.
authors: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences. bugwesa2002@yahoo.co.uk.
authors: Bugwesa Z
authors: BZ
authors: Katale
authors: Erasto V
authors: EV
authors: Mbugi
authors: Sharon
authors: S
authors: Kendal
authors: Robert D
authors: RD
authors: Fyumagwa
authors: Gibson S
authors: GS
authors: Kibiki
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Godfrey-Faussett
authors: Julius D
authors: JD
authors: Keyyu
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Van Helden
authors: Mecky I
authors: MI
authors: Matee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D002417:Cattle; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D058751:Livestock; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D013636:Tanzania / Q000453:epidemiology; D014374:Tuberculin Test / Q000662:veterinary; D014380:Tuberculosis, Bovine / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D015047:Zoonoses