Bovine TB Eradication Scheme

To date, the BTB eradication scheme has failed to significantly reduce the preva­lence of BTB and the number of TB-infected herds in Egypt. Bovine TB still constitutes a serious public health hazard, and every effort should thus be made to control the disease in Egypt.

Collectively, in Egypt, the use of the single and comparative intradermal tuber­culin tests for TB screening, abattoir meat inspection, laboratory monitoring of tissue samples, and improved animal husbandry should lead to an improvement in animal health and a reduction of the zoonotic risk for humans of contracting BTB. The availability of limited laboratory facilities in Egypt, as is the situation in most developing countries, is an additional impediment, and it means that the diagnosis of TB infections is usually only based on the detection of AFBs on smear examina­tion, and misdiagnosis of M. bovis infection can be expected to occur frequently (Thoen and Steele 1995).

The national BTB control program in Egypt was based on compulsory periodic testing of females (aged six months and above) and bulls (used for breeding purposes), slaughter of reactors, and monetary compensation for the animals slaughtered. The program was initially implemented in a few Egyptian governorates in 1981, and following the decline in the prevalence of BTB from 6.1% in 1981 to 2.6% during the 1990s (Cosivi et al. 1998), the control program was expanded to cover the entire country in 1986. Currently, the Egyptian Veterinary Service mon­itors all known BTB-positive farms and subject cattle on the farms to tuberculin testing, and slaughter of reactors. The Veterinary Service does, however, experience difficulties in dealing with household cattle that constitute a large proportion of farmed cattle in Egypt. The control program is also hampered by an unreliable traceability system and the consequent inability of tracing back cattle to their herd of origin whenever a BTB-positive case was found at slaughter.

In summary, frequent testing of animals using the CCT and prompt diagnosis of BTB, especially before restocking a dairy herd, are of great importance and should be used to strengthen control measures. Adopting and applying strict and uniform control measures to animals and workers can reduce the incidence of BTB in animals and humans in Egypt.

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