Introduction
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious, chronic, and potentially fatal disease caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) that are often able to cross species barriers between domestic and wild animals, and humans.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the commonest cause of TB in humans, while Mycobacterium bovis is arguably the most common mycobacterial species causing TB in animals, and it probably has the most extensive host range of all the disease-causing mycobacteria. It has been known for many decades that M. bovis can also infect and cause zoonotic tuberculosis (zoonotic TB, zTB) in humans, and for this reason, and the socio-economic impact of the infection in livestock, efforts to control bovine tuberculosis (BTB) globally in wildlife and domestic animals are common and legislated for in many countries.P. D. van Helden (*)
Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, South African MRC Centre for TB Research, DST NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa e-mail: pvh@sun.ac.za
A. Michel
Department Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa
e-mail: anita.michel@up.ac.za
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 31
A. B. Dibaba et al. (eds.), Tuberculosis in Animals: An African Perspective, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18690-6_3
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