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14 páginas, 6 figuras., The present work investigated the prevalence, spatial distribution, and temporal distribution of tuberculosis (TB) in free-ranging Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) and cattle in Asturias (Atlantic Spain) during a 13-year follow-up. The study objective was to assess the role of badgers as a TB reservoir for cattle and other sympatric wild species in the region. Between 2008 and 2020, 673 badgers (98 trapped and 575 killed in road traffic accidents) in Asturias were necropsied, and their tissue samples were cultured for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) isolation. Serum samples were tested in an in-house indirect P22 ELISA to detect antibodies against the MTC. In parallel, data on MTC isolation and single intradermal tuberculin test results were extracted for cattle that were tested and culled as part of the Spanish National Program for the Eradication of Bovine TB. A total of 27/639 badgers (4.23%) were positive for MTC based on bacterial isolation, while 160/673 badgers (23.77%) were found to be positive with the P22 ELISA. The rate of seropositivity was higher among adult badgers than subadults. Badger TB status was spatially and temporally associated with cattle TB status. Our results cannot determine the direction of possible interspecies transmission, but they are consistent with the idea that the two hosts may exert infection pressure on each other. This study highlights the importance of the wildlife monitoring of infection and disease during epidemiological interventions in order to optimize outcomes., This work was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU), the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) reference project RTI2018-096010-B-C21 (FEDER co-funded), PCTI 2018–2020 (GRUPIN: IDI2018-000237), and FEDER and Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación. C.B.V. was supported by a grant from the Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Spain. Publication costs were covered with funds from RTI2018- 096010-B-C21 (FEDER co-funded). T.D.B. was supported by a fellowship from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES; process number 88887.511077/2020-00).

We provide a temporal overview (from 2012 to 2018) of the outcomes of tuberculosis (TB) in the cattle and badger populations in a hot-spot in Asturias (Atlantic Spain). We also study the badger&rsquo, s spatial ecology from an epidemiological perspective in order to describe hazardous behavior in relation to TB transmission between cattle and badgers. Culture and single intradermal tuberculin test (SITT) were available for cattle as part of the National Program for the Eradication of TB. A field survey was also carried out in order to determine the paddocks and buildings used by each farm, and the information obtained was stored by using geographic information systems. Moreover, eighty-three badgers were submitted for necropsy and subsequent bacteriological studies. Ten badgers were also tracked, using global positioning system (GPS) collars. The prevalence of TB in cattle herds in the hot-spot increased from 2.2% in 2012 to 20% in 2016, it then declined to 0.0% in 2018. In contrast, the TB prevalence in badgers increased notably (from 5.55% in 2012&ndash, 2015 to 10.64% in 2016&ndash, 2018). Both cattle and badgers shared the same strain of Mycobacterium bovis. The collared badgers preferred paddocks used by TB-positive herds in spring and summer (when they were more active). The males occupied larger home ranges than the females (Khr95: males 149.78 &plusmn, 25.84 ha and females 73.37 &plusmn, 22.91 ha, Kcr50: males 29.83 &plusmn, 5.69 ha and females 13.59 &plusmn, 5.00 ha), and the home ranges were smaller in autumn and winter than in summer. The averages of the index of daily and maximum distances traveled by badgers were 1.88 &plusmn, (SD) 1.20 km and 1.99 &plusmn, 0.71 km, respectively. One of them presented a dispersive behavior with a maximum range of 18.3 km. The most preferred habitat was apple orchards in all seasons, with the exception of winter, in which they preferred pastures. Land uses and landscape structure, which have been linked with certain livestock-management practices, provide a scenario of great potential for badger&ndash, cattle interactions, thus enhancing the importance of the badgers&rsquo, ecology, which could potentially transmit TB back to cattle in the future.

To the Editor: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the main causative agent of tuberculosis in humans. However, little attention has been paid to its transmission from humans to animals. We report M. tuberculosis infections in 3 cattle farms in Spain. The epidemiologic investigation traced humans as the source of infection, with 1 of the strains showing multidrug resistance. Recent studies have reported isolation of M. tuberculosis in cattle with prevalences of 4.7%–30.8% in African and Asian countries (1–3). In cattle, this infection occurs in countries with the highest incidence of human tuberculosis in the world. In Europe, only 14 cases of M. tuberculosis infection have been described in 3 eastern countries since implementation of eradication programs (4,5). The only reported cases of M. tuberculosis in cattle in western Europe were described in Great Britain and date back to the 1950s (6). During 2007–2009, three cases of tuberculosis caused by M. tuberculosis were detected in 3 unrelated cattle farms, 2 of them free of tuberculosis (farms 1 and 2). As part of the surveillance system of bovine tuberculosis, a pool of tissue samples from each cow (respiratory lymph nodes and lung) were homogenized with sterile distilled water, and culture was carried out by the BACTEC mycobacteria growth indicator tube 960 system (Beckton Dickinson, Madrid, Spain). Members of the M. tuberculosis complex were identified and genotyped by direct variable repeat spacer olignucleotide typing and mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit–variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing (7). The 3 M. tuberculosis–infected animals were

There are few reports of infection with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) bacteria in badgers. In this study archive data relating to the isolation of MAC organisms from badgers in the UK is presented, and information derived from recent cases of such infection in Spain is used to illustrate the associated pathology and to characterise strain types. Tissue samples were cultured for mycobacteria and, in the case of Spanish badgers, were examined both histopathologically and using immunohistochemistry, and DNA typing of M. avium isolates was also carried out. A total of 5 (7.35%) and 281 (0.51%) isolates of M. avium spp. were recovered from badgers from the studies in Spain and the UK, respectively. DNA typing of the isolates from Spain identified the sub-species M. avium hominissuis and M. avium avium. These findings provide new information on the prevalence of MAC organisms in badgers in the UK and Spain. The extent to which infected badgers may be involved in the epidemiology of M. avium in other wild or domestic hosts remains unknown., Ana Balseiro is the recipient of a ‘Contrato de Investigación para Doctores’ from the Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agraria y Agroalimentaria (INIA). This Project is supported by INIA Grant RTA2008-00041-00-00. Christian Gortázar acknowledges assistance of Grants AGL2008-03875 MCINN and FEDER.

The prevalence, distribution and pathology related to infection with Mycobacterium bovis and other mycobacteria were determined in trapped (n= 36) and road-killed (n= 121) badgers in Spain from 2006 to 2010. The prevalence of M. bovis based on bacteriological culture from road-killed badgers was 8/121 (6.6%) and from trapped badgers was 0/36 (0%). Tuberculosis/. M. bovis infection was evident in 15/121 (12.4%) road-killed badgers when bacteriology and histopathology were combined. Mycobacterium avium complex was isolated by culture from the tracheal aspirate of 1/36 (2.8%) trapped badgers and from tissue pools from 8/121 (6.6%) road-killed badgers., Ana Balseiro is a recipient of a ‘Contrato de Investigación para Doctores from the Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agraria y Agroalimentaria (INIA). This Project is supported by INIA RTA2008-00041-00-00, MCINN Grant AGL2008-03875 and FEDER and FP7 EU Grant TB-STEP (212414), as well as the IREC/CSIC – Principado de Asturias agreement.

Recent studies suggest that badgers may be a potential reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis infection for cattle in Northern Spain. The objective of this study was to investigate potential epidemiological links between cattle and badgers. Culture and molecular typing data were available for cattle culled during the national tuberculosis (TB) eradication campaigns between 2008 and 2012, as well as from 171 necropsied badgers and 60 live animals trapped and examined over the same time period.Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains were isolated from pooled tissues of 14 (8.2%) necropsied badgers, of which 11 were identified as M. bovis: six different spoligotypes of M. bovis were subsequently identified. In two geographical locations where these isolates were shared between cattle and badgers, infected cattle herds and badgers lived in close contact. Although it remains unclear if badgers are a maintenance or spill-over host of M. bovis in this setting, it would appear prudent to have precautionary measures in place to reduce contact between cattle and badgers., Ana Balseiro is a recipient of a Contrato de Investigación para Doctores award from the Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agraria y Agroalimentaria (INIA). Nelson Marreros holds a Fellowship for Prospective Researcher from the Swiss National Science Foundation. This project was supported by INIA RTA2011-00010-00-00, MCINN Grant AGL2011-30041 and FEDER and FP7 EU Grant TB-STEP (212414).