title: Current knowledge and pending challenges in zoonosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis: a review.
abstract: Mycobacterium bovis is both the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (TB) and a zoonotic pathogen. In humans, considerably fewer cases of TB are caused by M. bovis than M. tuberculosis; nevertheless, diagnostic limitations mean that currently available data on prevalence grossly underestimate the true dimension of the problem. The routes of transmission from animals to humans are well known and include direct exposure to infected animals or consumption of contaminated animal products. Application of fingerprinting tools facilitates analysis of the molecular epidemiology of M. bovis in animal-to-human and human-to-human transmission. Apart from cattle and M. bovis, other animal species and members within the M. tuberculosis complex can contribute to the zoonosis. Improvements in diagnostic techniques, application of more advanced discriminatory genotyping tools, and collaboration between veterinary and human health care researchers are key to our understanding of this zoonosis.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Microbiología Clínica y Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias-CIBERES (CD06/06/0058), Spain.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pérez-Lago
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Microbiología Clínica y Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias-CIBERES (CD06/06/0058), Spain; CEI Campus Moncloa, UCM-UPM, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Yurena
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Microbiología Clínica y Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias-CIBERES (CD06/06/0058), Spain; CEI Campus Moncloa, UCM-UPM, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: dgviedma2@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Darío
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: García-de-Viedma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D000835:Animals, Wild; D002417:Cattle; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000662:veterinary; D005838:Genotype; D058507:Host Specificity; D006801:Humans; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D015995:Prevalence; D014380:Tuberculosis, Bovine / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*
keywords: M. bovis; Tuberculosis; Zoonosis